Selfless act a great sporting moment

Nikki Hamblin’s selfless act was reported around the world yesterday. The Daily Mail led with the story on their online site, asking: “The most inspirational moment of the Games so far? US and New Zealand runners HELP each other finish race after fall during women’s 5000m.”

USA Today also led with the story while other global news organisations featured the story prominently on their online sites.

Athletes and journalists tweeted about Hamblin’s golden moment.

Nick Zaccardi tweeted: “What sportsmanship from Abbey D’Agostino and New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin.”

While Big Sport said it was: “What the Olympics are all about!”

Speaking to Radio Sport’s Brenton Vannisselroy, Hamblin said she wasn’t sure how the fall occurred and who was at fault.

“I’m disappointed for her. She seems pretty badly hurt. I’m grateful I’ve come away pretty much unscathed. It was a lonely last four or five laps. But I was thinking ‘I have to finish. I have to keep going’.

“I don’t exactly know what happened in the race I saw some movement ahead of me in the pack and I think it was a sort of chain reaction. I guess in a 5k in that standard everyone is going to be bunched. Everyone is going to be jostling for their place. It’s the risk you take running at the back of that. I felt it was the best move for me because I wanted to conserve energy.

“Not really the way I saw my Olympic Games going. But looking forward to another four years,” Hamblin said before knowing she had made the final.

“I’ll pick myself up and keep going forward.”