A few days ago, something small but wonderful happened at the Sochi Olympics during the cross-country skiing event.
Dario Cologna of Switzerland finished the 15 kilometer course first, winning the gold metal after completing the course in 39 minutes with a close victory at the end. Like most of the other cross-country skiiers, he collapsed on the ground after crossing the finish line. But despite his exhaustion, Cologna did something wonderful and unexpected.
28 minutes after Cologna finished the race in first place, Roberto Carcelen finished in last place as the first Winter Olympian from Peru. He had only been skiing for 9 years (since 2005) and had to complete the arduous race with several broken ribs from an accident that had happened during training 2 weeks before the Olympics.
When he finally crossed the finish line in 87th place, he was greeted with a standing ovation from the crowd. Dachhiri Sherpa of Nepal - the person who finished just before him - was the first to congratulate him. Then, to everyone's astonishment, Dario Cologna came over and shook hands with both of them after waiting for the entire 28 minutes to shake hands with the last person to cross the finish line.
What a noble and good-spirited thing to do! To me, these things are what makes the Olympics truly great because the world comes together to put aside all politics, prejudice, problems, etc. and just enjoy the beauty of these sports in good spirit, to see the athletes represent their countries with pride, and to support/appreciate those people who work hard to overcome difficulties and obstacles in their lives.
http://www.businessinsider.com/dario-cologna-peru-roberto-carcelen-finish-line-2014-2
I find this extremely humbling, however a lot of people bring forth nice acts for the paparazzi. Lets just hope his intentions where pure
ReplyDeleteTyra Harris, 5th period
ReplyDeleteKudos to Cologna. That was a very honorable thing to do. He showed great sportsmanship. He not only represented his country well in his sport, but also off the field. Congratulations to him.
That's great! The Olympics are indeed very interesting not only athletically but in terms of world relations.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great thing to do! The olympics are so closely tied to worldwide social relations; it's great to see this kind of thing happening.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very very sweet story. I think there aren't enough examples of great people left around.
ReplyDelete