--- title: Rio 2016 Olympics: Runners Win Rare Medal for Sportsmanship description: Olympic runners Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D'Agostino were awarded the rare prize when they helped each other finish a race after falling down. canonical: https://time.com/4461464/olympic-runners-pierre-de-coubertin-medal/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-22T17:01:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:40.169Z og:title: These Olympic Runners Just Won a Major Honor og:description: Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D'Agostino were recognized for their sportsmanship og:url: https://time.com/4461464/olympic-runners-pierre-de-coubertin-medal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e44c501d6531f46/6988a32c97cdff400e6ad85e/nikki-hamblin-abby-dagostino.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5022 og:image:height: 2825 og:image:alt: Nikki Hamblin And Abbey D'Agostino Portrait Session og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Olympic Runners Just Won a Major Honor twitter:description: Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D'Agostino were recognized for their sportsmanship twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e44c501d6531f46/6988a32c97cdff400e6ad85e/nikki-hamblin-abby-dagostino.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Olympic Runners Who Helped Each Other After Falling Down Just Won a Major Honor > Sponsored content. 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The 2016 Olympics were far from perfect, but Rio honored the games as only it could._  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 22, 2016 5:01 PM UTC  RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 17: New Zealand distance runner, Nikki Hamblin and American runner, Abbey D'Agostino pose for a portrait on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hamblin and D'Agostino came last in their 5000m heat on Tuesday after they collided and fell midway through their race. The pair have been commended for their sportsmanship after they helped each other up to finish the race. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 17: New Zealand distance runner, Nikki Hamblin and American runner, Abbey D'Agostino pose for a portrait on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hamblin and D'Agostino came last in their 5000m heat on Tuesday after they collided and fell midway through their race. The pair have been commended for their sportsmanship after they helped each other up to finish the race. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) Chris Graythen—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 22, 2016 5:01 PM UTC The Pierre de Coubertin medal has only been awarded 17 times in Olympic history. On Saturday, New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin and American Abbey D’Agostino became the 18th and 19th recipients of the unusual award — but not because of their athletic prowess. Instead, they received the rare prize because they [displayed an extraordinary act of sportsmanship](http://time.com/4460750/rio-2016-olympics-best-moments-neymar-phelps-biles-ledecky/?iid=sr-link1), The two were 3,000 meters into the 5,000 meter race when Hamblin clipped D’Agostino, bringing both runners down. D’Agostino convinced Hamblin to get back up — but it turned out D’Agostino was hurt. Together, they managed to encourage each other to finish the race. The medal is also known as the International Fair Play Committee Award, and the two track stars were selected for the honor by a jury made up of members of the Committee for International Fair Play, the International Olympic Committee, fellow athletes and media representatives. “The D’Agostino and Hamblin story is one of humanity and sacrifice which has already captured the hearts of people across the globe,” the International Olympic Committee [said in a statement.](https://www.olympic.org/news/fair-play-awards-recognise-true-olympic-champions-in-sportsmanship) A third Pierre de Coubertin medal was also handed out on Saturday — to the Norwegian men’s handball team, for their “gracious attitude” in choosing to abstain from filing a complaint after losing out in an Olympics qualifying match to Germany. 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