Staff Writer
“It was like watching an animal stuck in a trap. You can’t just sit there and do nothing about it,” Justin Wadsworth, Canadian cross-country ski coach, said in response to coming to the aid of a fellow Olympian.
Russian Anton Gafarov was struggling to end the race after two mishaps. First he crashed on a downhill corner and broke a ski, then he crashed again and had a layer of P-Tex skinned off his ski, which wrapped itself around his foot.
No one came to his aid until Wadsworth, including Gafarov’s Russian coaches.
Wadsworth, a three-time Olympian, brought out a spare ski he had on hand for Canadian racer Alex Harvey. Wadsworth wordlessly pulled off the broken ski and replaced it with only a nod passing between the two.
As to why Wadsworth helped a member of an opposing team: “I wanted him to have dignity as he crossed the finish line”.
This is the point of the Olympics. Coming together despite our language, culture, and societal differences.
Cathel Kelly, Sport Columnist for thestar.com interviewed Wadsworth and mentioned that he was surprised anyone would care about what he had done.
Although the Canadians had a tough time themselves, with early eliminations, Wadsworth and Canada are winners for the ability to show worldwide how we should treat our fellow man. Even though we are not all Canadian or Olympians, we can all appreciate what Wadsworth did for Gafarov.
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