His own team had been eliminated earlier, but when Canadian cross country ski coach Justin Wadsworth saw struggling Russian skier Anton Gafarov with what little remained of his left ski, Wadsworth rushed over and attached a new one, so Gafarov could finish his race.
The incident occurred on Tuesday (February 11). According to CBC News Gafarov was clearly out of the race, but still wanted to finish in front of the home crowd. But his ski was too badly damaged in a crash and then he took another tumble into the snow.
According to Toronto Star’s Cathal Kelly when Wadsworth looked around he saw no one was moving. Everyone just stared. “It was like watching an animal stuck in a trap. You can’t just sit there and do nothing about it,” Wadsworth said later.
So he leapt in and helped the skier put on a spare ski Wadsworth brought.
You can see the video here.
More information:
CBC News – Canadian cross-country coach Justin Wadsworth lends ski to Russian skier (including video) – here
Toronto Star/Cathal Kelly – Canadian coach’s act of kindness in cross country skiing at Sochi Olympics reflects all of us – here
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