The Olympic Games head to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this August, with athletes from over 200 nations competing for the most prestigious prize in international sport.
The pinnacle of competition has, nevertheless, seen sportspersons from around the world lend each other support when they need it most.
Here are 10 heartwarming moments in the history of the Olympics:
The story of Jesse Owens and Luz Long
One of the greatest athletes of all time, Jesse Owens competed in a time of serious racial tension. Jim Crow laws, which discriminated heavily against people of colour in the United States, were in full effect in the early 1930s, when Owens was at his competitive prime.
And in 1936, Owens competed at one of the worst possible places for a man of colour – Nazi Germany, which hosted the Olympic Games that year.
But the legendary Owens found an unlikely ally.
Having won the 100m final the day before, Owens was now competing for the long jump. Struggling in the qualifiers, the American had already flubbed his first two attempts, when Long walked up to him and whispered advice in his ear. He suggested Owens use a slightly different technique on his final jump – and the technique worked.
Owens qualified on his final attempt. With his performance in the finals, the American, who had been going neck-and-neck with the German, beat him to the gold medal there.
And Long would be the first one to congratulate him.
In an atmosphere marked by severe competition, racial tensions and the advent of the most gruesome political regime of the past century, one story stood out – and it was that of Owens and Long.
80 years later, the families of the pair are still in touch.
Philipp Boit and Bjorn Daehlie
Kenyan middle-distance runner Philipp Boit had absolutely no skiing experience. Neither did his distance-running teammate and compatriot Henry Bitok. Despite this, the pair of them were flown to Finland to train for the competitive skiing discipline at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan.
Boit was actually forced to practice ‘dry skiing’ for two years after losing his sponsorships.
So unfamiliar was Boit with the discipline that he would end 92nd - and last – in that event. The medal ceremony had already begun, with Boit yet to reach the finish line.
Winner Bjorn Daehlie of Norway waited to receive his medals, delaying the medal ceremony until Boit crossed the finish line in the 10km classic skiing race.
The incident touched Boit so deeply he named one of his sons Daehlie Boit in honour of his competitor.
Medals of eternal friendship
Japanese pole vaulter Shuhei Nishida was an engineer for Japanese firm Hitachi before competing in the Olympic Games. At his first Olympics in Los Angeles in 1932, Nishida finished with the silver medal.
He would go on to participate at the 1932 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, and repeated his performance with similar success, again winning silver. This time, however, he had tied with compatriot and rival Sueo Oe; the two declined a rematch to see who would win silver and bronze, with Nishida arbitrarily given the silver medal and Oe the bronze.
The two had such a deep mutual respect for each other that Nishida and Oe, upon return to Japan, had the medals sawed in half and spliced together – giving them each a half silver, half-bronze medal.
They came to be known as the ‘medals of eternal friendship.’
Eugenio Monti to the rescue!
Monti was known as one of the most successful bobsledders in the history of the sport. The Italian won a slew of national and international titles at skiing before his Olympic glories at bobsleigh, however.
A prolific skiier, Monti tore ligaments in both knees, which put paid to his skiing career; that was when he made the transition to bobsledding.
He won two silvers at the 1956 Olympics in Italy in the bobsleigh,but his true moment of glory came in 1964.
Monti had been in position to take yet another silver medal in the two-man bobsleigh event, when he saw British bobsledders Tony Nash and Robin Dixon struggling with their sled. As it turned out, the two Britons were missing a bolt on the sled. That prompted Monti to give them a bolt off his own so they could compete.
Dixon and Nash would take silver, with Monti and his teammate taking the bronze medal.
That was not the only act of sportsmanship Monti showed in those Olympic Games. In the four-man bobsleigh discipline, Monti saw the Canadian team lose their axle.
Selflessly volunteering to help with his team of mechanics, Monti’s assistance meant the Canadian team would take gold; he and the Italian side took an eventual bronze.
His deeds did not go unrewarded – Monti received the first ever Pierre de Coubertin Medal, named for the French founder of the Modern Olympic Games, for sportsmanship.
Derek Redmond's father helps him across the finish line
British sprinter Derek Redmond was incredibly successful in the prime of his career. The national record holder in the 400m sprint, Redmond lost – and then regained – that record over the next two years.
He won two significant gold medals in the interim – one at the team 4x400m relay at the European Championships, and the same at the Commonwealth Games.
For all his successes, however, Redmond was plagued by injury throughout his career.
Selected for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, Redmond had been in strong form and even topped timesheets early on. After winning his quarter-final and showing a strong start in the semi-finals, the then-27-year-old began to slow – and 250m from the finish suffered a devastating injury – his hamstring tore.
Unable to move, Redmond nevertheless did not give up. Deciding that he wanted to complete the race nevertheless, he began hobbling to the finish line.
Father Jim Redmond passed the security barricades to help his struggling son across the finish line. Unfortunately, as a result of that move, Redmond was classified as a ‘did not finish’, but the moment went down as one of the most heartwarming in Olympic history – and Redmond’s move served as a reminder to never give up.
