Ohio runner stops in state final to aid fallen opponent

Ohio Runner stops in state final to aid fallen opponent

On Saturday, West Liberty-Salem (Ohio) High junior Meghan Vogel won a state title. Incredibly, that might not even be what she or anyone else remembers most about her day at the Ohio Division III track and field state meet, because she later committed one of the most selfless acts of the year on the track: She stopped running the 3,200-meter final to help along a foe who had collapsed just 20 feet from the finish line.

Wow...

what a concept-

Sportmanship

I have a feeling that this young lady might actually go far in her life, very far

you want the topper to the cake?

Technically, Vogel should have been disqualified for helping McMath, as regulations call for any runners aiding another to be disqualified from their event. Yet, perhaps in line with the spirit of Vogel's touching act, Ohio officials failed to disqualify either runner, with final standings crediting McMath for a 14th-place finish and showing Vogel crossing the line in 15th place.

The officials also showed sportsmanship..




I am more shocked by the officials then anything else

I know its easy to feel good about this story and prattle on about "sportsmanship", but the truth is she lost. they both lost.What good did it do anyone?

reply to post by ripcontrol


I'm not sure I agree this is such a good thing.

3200 meter race, 20 meters from the finish line. How hard would it have been to finish the race, and then jog back to help? It isn't like they were out on the Sahara desert, there were coaches, trainers, and emergency personnel on hand. Was the girl in life-threatening distress?

There are rules for a reason. Helping her cross the finish line doesn't do anything for the injured girl, and it only hurts the other girl's finish. What if she made an injury worse?

Seeing Kerri Strug nail her landing on 1 foot was amazing.

Seeing the people crawling across the Iron Man finish line literally delirious and puking, but finishing on their own is special.

But seeing someone give up their own finish, just to help an injured runner go a few extra meters seems stupid in my opinion.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by ripcontrol

 

But seeing someone give up their own finish, just to help an injured runner go a few extra meters seems stupid in my opinion.

Apparently compassion is not part of your make up. Seeing someone serve others instead of themselves is something to be revered. Maybe one day you will understand.

reply to post by PvtHudson


if she was 15th she would have lost anyway from the sounds of things. So it made a huge difference to the collapsed runner I'm sure. Besides if there isn't a prize for winning then is there really ever a point?

It sort of reminds me of socialism. Instead of having a whole country of people making money, profit and doing well, everyone is equally miserable. Nobody wins.

Originally posted by Unthought Known


Apparently compassion is not part of your make up. Seeing someone serve others instead of themselves is something to be revered. Maybe one day you will understand.

What does competition have to do with compassion?

Originally posted by Unthought Known

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by ripcontrol

 

But seeing someone give up their own finish, just to help an injured runner go a few extra meters seems stupid in my opinion.

Apparently compassion is not part of your make up. Seeing someone serve others instead of themselves is something to be revered. Maybe one day you will understand.

I totally understand, if she had actually served anyone. She didn't do anything. The help was unnecessary, this was an organized sporting event with people specifically tasked with helping the fallen runner. She let down her own race, her own team, and she could have gotten the fallen runner disqualified, or aggravated her injury worse.

She didn't serve anyone. She just broke the rules and did something unnecessary and disruptive.

If this girls stops and saves a oppossum that got hit by a car, then that is compassion. If she graduates and joins the Peace Corps, then that is compassion. Breaking the rules, sabotaging her own race, letting down her coaches and her team, just to break a rule and disqualify, and possible further injure another runner is not compassion, it is carelessness and negligence.

reply to post by ripcontrol

Yet again ,hope for the future of America.This is who we are supposed to be.

Originally posted by PvtHudson
I know its easy to feel good about this story and prattle on about "sportsmanship", but the truth is she lost. they both lost.What good did it do anyone?

If you can't see past the idea of winning, this story is lost on you. This is a story about one person helpling another. Not because it would benefit them in some way, gain them some sort of advantage. Just to help another when she could have kept running and maybe improved her chances of placing higher. Bravo, young lady. Bravo.

reply to post by PvtHudson


Some times its just about finishing the race instead of winning the race. Doing a random act of kindness for your fellow runner is a much better feeling the winning a race. At least it was for this runner.

Not everything is about being the best.

She prolly grew up playing soccer.

Soccer where they don't keep score.

There are no winners there either.

Originally posted by DAVID64

Originally posted by PvtHudson
I know its easy to feel good about this story and prattle on about "sportsmanship", but the truth is she lost. they both lost.What good did it do anyone?

If you can't see past the idea of winning, this story is lost on you. This is a story about one person helpling another. Not because it would benefit them in some way, gain them some sort of advantage. Just to help another when she could have kept running and maybe improved her chances of placing higher. Bravo, young lady. Bravo.

That is just PC bullcrap we have been programmed to feel in this goody-goody age.

There is nothing sportsman of helping to disqualify another competitor? What she did was break the rules. What she did was dangerous and could have worsened an injury. What she did was not "helping" another person, it was disrupting a race and ignoring the rules.

Are you people reading the same story as me? She didn't stop to help a stranded motorist, and she didn't stop to pick up a hitchhiker in the rain, and she didn't stop and help some orphan study for their finals, what she did was get in the way of emergency personnel, break a rule, take unnecessary risks, give up her own race position, and all for nothing, because the person still finished last and was lucky to not get disqualified.

What purpose did it serve?

Originally posted by getreadyalready

Originally posted by DAVID64

Originally posted by PvtHudson
I know its easy to feel good about this story and prattle on about "sportsmanship", but the truth is she lost. they both lost.What good did it do anyone?

If you can't see past the idea of winning, this story is lost on you. This is a story about one person helpling another. Not because it would benefit them in some way, gain them some sort of advantage. Just to help another when she could have kept running and maybe improved her chances of placing higher. Bravo, young lady. Bravo.

That is just PC bullcrap we have been programmed to feel in this goody-goody age.

There is nothing sportsman of helping to disqualify another competitor? What she did was break the rules. What she did was dangerous and could have worsened an injury. What she did was not "helping" another person, it was disrupting a race and ignoring the rules.

Are you people reading the same story as me? She didn't stop to help a stranded motorist, and she didn't stop to pick up a hitchhiker in the rain, and she didn't stop and help some orphan study for their finals, what she did was get in the way of emergency personnel, break a rule, take unnecessary risks, give up her own race position, and all for nothing, because the person still finished last and was lucky to not get disqualified.

What purpose did it serve?

You can keep spinning this in a bad way if you want but the fact remains she did something most people would not do. People who are fixated on being the best and winning. Compassion is a greater virtue then selfishness.

Somebody watched "CARS" and wanted to be like Lightning McQueen..

Originally posted by DAVID64

Originally posted by PvtHudson
I know its easy to feel good about this story and prattle on about "sportsmanship", but the truth is she lost. they both lost.What good did it do anyone?

If you can't see past the idea of winning, this story is lost on you. This is a story about one person helpling another. Not because it would benefit them in some way, gain them some sort of advantage. Just to help another when she could have kept running and maybe improved her chances of placing higher. Bravo, young lady. Bravo.

Help her with what exactly?

Originally posted by Vinny5036
Somebody watched "CARS" and wanted to be like Lightning McQueen..

That is exactly what I thought of!! And, I have to admit, I got a little lump in my throat the first time I watched that movie, and he went back to help Doc!

Still, this girl wasn't pushing a retiree on their last race during a professional event, where the sponsors and team owners and die hard fans would get the symbology of it all and appreciate it. This was an amateur event, with a real person, no sponsors, and no real benefit to finishing the race or not.

If this were the Iron Man, or the Boston Marathon, and you were helping a friend finish the race, then fine, but this was a championship competition with an injury.

I think she really did see Cars too many times, and combine that with the peewee sports, lack of score-keeping, and PC crap that gets spouted everywhere, and this poor girl probably thought she was doing the right thing. It's a shame if you ask me.

reply to post by PvtHudson


As I said in a previouse post. Some times it is about the pride of finishing the race at any means, Some times you just need a helping hand to get you there. Reminds me of Derek Redmond 1992 olympics.

reply to post by Sol23


It's his father, and it's the Olympics.

That was a beautiful event, not comparable to the one in the OP. It wasn't a fellow runner sabotaging their own finish and risking disqualification, and it wasn't the pinnacle of a career ending in one courageous finish.

The video you linked was beautiful. Kerri Strug's vault was beautiful. Lightning McQueen and Doc were beautiful. The girl in the OP was naive and immature.

Kerri Strug's Gold Medal Vault on an injured leg. She nailed the landing, and then couldn't even walk!

I ran Div II cross country and track in college and this is a no no. I dont care if she wanted to help or felt bad for her. Her coach probably chewed her ass out and her team was probably pissed because they lost all of the points she would have won them. Its called sports. I agree with sportsmanship which in my mind is basically play fair, be friendly and follow the rules. This would be the equivalent of a goalie in soccer scooting out of the way to let a player score just because said player fell down and skinned his knee or something. Its not how track and field works. We can glorify it and make her seem like a hero but she let her team down and her school down. Yes its a warm and fuzzy story.. Lets all hold hands and sing about it. As mentioned above, the coaches and trainers that were all standing around could have and should have handled it. They are better equipped anyway.