Olympic spirit not enough, as Abbey D’Agostino forced to sit out final
The distance runner from New England will be sidelined with a knee injury suffered in yesterday's collision.
In a sad plot twist to an otherwise heartwarming story, Abbey D’Agostino, who made waves for her impressive show of sportsmanship yesterday, will be unable to compete in Friday’s 5,000 meter final due to a knee injury she suffered after colliding with New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin.
The two runners toppled over one another when Hamblin stumbled in front of D’Agostino, and in addition to the minor gashes and contusions, it was reported that D’Agostino may have dislocated her knee. But this morning it was revealed that she had actually suffered a complete tear of her right ACL, a meniscus tear, and a strained MCL.
D’Agostino got to her feet after the fall and helped Hamblin up so the two could finish the race, but tumbled back to the ground as her knee buckled. Hamblin would go on to support D’Agostino as the two went on to finish the race. The two runners were advanced to the final automatically after the fall, but D’Agostino will not be able to run.
“By far the best part of my Olympics experience has been the community it creates, what the Games symbolizes,” D’Agostino said. “I just keep thinking about how that spirit of unity and peace is stronger than all the global strife we’re bombarded with and saddened by on a daily basis.”
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