Abbey D’Agostino, a 5,000-meter runner who trains in Boston, was part of an on-track collision in the first round of the women’s 5,000 and took a hard fall to the track. But it was her reaction to the collision that caught the attention of spectators.



Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand was running in front of D’Agostino when she fell in the race’s eighth lap. Without time to move to the outside, D’Agostino also fell, and she suffered an injury to her right knee.

As D’Agostino, 24, got up to continue running, she took one look to where the lead pack was off and running, then turned back, and put her hands under Hamblin’s arms to help her up.

“I am so grateful for Abbey for doing that for me,” Hamblin said. “That girl is the Olympic spirit right there. She ran four and a half laps barely being able to run. I’m so impressed and inspired that she did that. Like, I’ve never met this girl before, and isn’t that just so amazing? Such an amazing moment regardless of the race and the result on the board, that’s a moment that you’ll never, ever forget for the rest of your life.”

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When D’Agostino tried to continue running, she fell to the track again. This time, Hamblin helped her up. Both continued running, D’Agostino visibly limping. Hamblin finished the race in 16:43, D’Agostino in 17:10. Both were advanced to the final, as well as a third runner, Jennifer Wenth of Austria.

“She could hardly stand up,” Hamblin said. “She helped me first, I tried to help her. She was pretty bad. I didn’t even realize she was still running. When she was like, ‘Go on, go on, my leg’s not working,’ I thought she wouldn’t be able to finish. So when I turned around at the finish line and she’s still running, I was like, ‘Wow.’”

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It is unclear if D’Agostino will be able to compete in the final on Friday. After the race, officials took her off the track in a wheelchair. Her coach, Mark Coogan, said in a text message she was returning to the Olympic village for an MRI on her right knee. “She is the toughest runner I’ve ever been around,” he wrote.

D’Agotino was a seven-time NCAA champion while at Dartmouth College and holds a 5,000-meter PR of 15:03.85.

The competitors embrace after the race. Paul Gilham / Getty

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Jennifer Wenth's country as Australia. It is Austria.

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