WEB CHUTNEY

Just over 3,000 meters into the Rio 2016 Olympic semifinal of the women’s 5,000 meter race, two runners got tangled up and fell to the track.

New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin and American Abbey D’Agostino have both tumbled to the floor more than halfway into the race at Rio.

Hamblin tripped and fell to the track and D’Agostino couldn’t avoid the collision. After falling to the ground, D’Agostino helped Hamblin to her feet in order to continue the race.

“I went down, and was like, ‘What’s happening? Why am I on the ground?’” She said. “Then suddenly this hand on my shoulder, like ‘Get up, get up, we have to finish this,’ and I said, ‘Yup, yup, you’re right. This is the Olympic Games. We have to finish this. I’m so grateful for Abbey for doing that for me.” - Hamblin

A few meters later, D’Agostino collapsed again due to an ankle injury. However, Hamblin made sure she could stay on her feet and finish the race.

Eventually, D’Agostino told Hamblin to go ahead and continued to hobble to the finish line. Hamblin waited at the finish line and embraced her colleague.

The pair managed to finish the race as the last competitors on the field, and the crowd cheered loudly as they reached the finish line.

Source: Getty Images

Following their display, both Hamblin and D’Agostino were promoted to the 5000m final on Friday.