Friendship on the tracks and on the mat
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This was a particularly beautiful Olympics when it came to friendship. On day 12 of the Rio Olympics when the USA’s Abby D’Agostino stopped for New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin on the tracks of the women’s 5,000 meter, they both knew that they would not win any medals. But history was made of another kind, a history of fair play and understanding that highlighted the spirit of the Olympics. The athletes may have collided and fallen in the heats but their show of comradeship in helping each other to the finish line won them a rare Olympic award and the hearts of a global audience.
In the artistic gymnastics qualifying rounds, Hong Un-Jong of North Korea stopped for a selfie with Lee Eun-ju of South Korea.
In doing so, a fraught history of two enemy nations dissolved for a few seconds, and even though social media was rife with concern over whether Hong would be censured for her show of camaraderie with a South Korean rival, it showed the world the power of a single moment in rendering international politics null and void.
