I think this was a dumb idea on several accounts, and IMHO, the health examples are good ones. I think the losing runner might have been showboating, and did not treat the fallen runner with the respect she deserved. I wonder if this girl would have stopped had she been surging ahead in the top three.
This was a competition, and if I’d been the girl who fell, I think I would have been disappointed and humiliated enough, and probably swatted the “do-gooder” away. If I collapsed due to health issues, I’d thank her not to inexpertly judge my condition and proceed hauling my ass down the track to the cheers or jeers of the crowd.
If I’m a competitor, please afford me the dignity to stand or fall on my own. If I’m walking across a parking lot to my car and I fall, I will be most appreciative of your help.
I heard Rush talking about this and sent him an email saying almost the same thing. I told him that I think the ONLY reason she stopped to help the girl across the line was because she was already in dead last place, had nothing to gain by finishing 2nd to last place.
She had already won the 1600 meters earlier, so she had nothing to prove. If she would have been in contention for a medal, you can BET she would've let the medical personnel or someone else help the girl out.