RIO DE JANEIRO — They were strangers at the starting line, a 24-year-old Dartmouth graduate who barely qualified for these Olympics and an English-born runner who transplanted to New Zealand seven years ago. Less than 20 minutes later, they found themselves eternally linked — by circumstance, by action, by benevolence.
In a sport measured by a running clock and at a global event where only the victors are bestowed shiny medals, the display of sportsmanship Tuesday morning resonated far beyond the track.
“That girl is the Olympic spirit right there,” New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin said later.
Hamblin and Abbey D’Agostino, a runner from Topsfield, Mass., collided on the track during the women’s 5,000-meter race. The two seemingly sacrificed any chance at an Olympic medal to help each other reach the finish line, picking each other up, urging each other to continue, pushing each other to the finish.
“I’m never going to forget that moment,” Hamblin said. “When someone asks me what happened in Rio in 20 years’ time, that’s my story.”