We already know this, perhaps, but it's always nice to get a reminder.

For all it's gold, silver and bronze medal-biting Instragram moments, the Olympics can warm those heart cockles with a good old story of perseverance. Especially one that touches on the ingredients of battling through injury and of a fellow competitor's heartfelt respect.

Today, at the Cross-country venue, last place finisher Roberto Carcelen grabbed a Peruvian flag and the heart strings of those who were watching, with an assist to the winner of the race, Switzerland's Dario Cologna.

Carcelen is a rarity. A Peruvian at a Winter Games. The fact that he finished 87th (dead last of those who completed the 15 kilometre course; five challengers did not finish for various reasons) didn't matter a lick.

That he was crossing the finish line almost 28 minutes behind Cologna was inconsequential. That the 43 year old Carcelen was struggling to that finish line just two weeks or so after suffering broken ribs in a training mishap, was.

And then, the capper. Olympic spirit personified.

Cologna, the gold medal winner, greeted Carcelen just after the man from Peru crossed the finish line, to offer congratulations. Also there was the 86th place finisher (more than ten minutes ahead of Carcelen), Dachhiri Sherpa, of Nepal, who gave Carcelen a hug.

Must have been a great moment for Carcelen, so long as Sherpa didn't squeeze too tightly, what with those tender ribs.

Carcelen had finished 94th in the same event at Vancouver (when he became his country's first ever Olympic Winter Games competitor) and was hoping to do better than that this time around.

He did and despite the fact that he's been skiing only since the age of 35, against many competitors who've been on skis since they could walk.

Can't wait to read his blog update on this, when it comes.

In his last entry before the competition, he wrote:

Tomorrow around 2pm I should be starting the 15 km classic style race. It is going to be (as I mentioned before) a long and painful ordeal.In normal conditions this would be one of my favorite races courses, it is a piece of art, but given my injuries and now that I caught a cold, this has became a test of survival, one single fall can make the injuries worst or finish my skiing career earlier than the closing ceremony.

Carcelen added that he'd been interviewed by a dozen journalists in the days leading up to the race.

Bet on that attention increasing exponentially now.