• When sport shows its heart

The 2026 Winter Olympics, scheduled to end today (22), has been taking place in recent weeks across Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the latter a postcard-perfect ski town near Italy’s border with Austria. 

The Winter Olympics represents just about everything that feels worlds away from a tropical island like Sri Lanka – although, if recent Nuwara Eliya weather reports are anything to go by, perhaps we’re not entirely out of the winter-sport conversation just yet.

Still, the Olympics, whether summer or winter, always have a way of getting us thinking about something bigger than medals and podium finishes. At their core, the Games represent the greatest global gathering of athletic excellence. Nations compete fiercely. Athletes train for years, sometimes decades, chasing fractions of seconds and millimetres of advantage. It is high-pressure, high-stakes, and yes, often cutthroat.

And yet, time and again, the moments we remember most are not always the gold medals. They are the gestures, the helping hands, and the quiet acts of grace that cut through the competitive intensity.

When fairness comes first

Already, from the Italy Winter Games, a clip has gone viral that perfectly captures this spirit. During a biathlon event, one racer accidentally knocked the ski pole out of his competitor’s hand. In a split-second decision that most would hesitate over, he handed over one of his own poles instead, leaving himself disadvantaged, but restoring fairness to the race. It was a small act. But in a sport built on margins, it was enormous.

Moments like these remind us that while sport may be about winning, sportsmanship is about character. So inspired by this latest viral gesture, we asked some of our readers to share their favourite moments in sporting history, the times when athletes chose humanity over ego, fairness over advantage, and compassion over competition. Because sometimes, the most powerful victories are not recorded on a scoreboard.

Respect on the podium

Former badminton player Zulfa Iliyas says acts of sportsmanship in individual sportsmanship often feels especially meaningful.

Sharing her favourite sporting moment, Zulfa recalled an incident from badminton that had left a lasting impression on her. “One moment I always remember is when Chinese badminton player He Bingjiao honoured her injured opponent during the medal ceremony,” Zulfa said.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, He won the Silver medal in the women’s badminton finals, but her opponent, Spain’s Carolina Marin, had been leading the match before being forced to withdraw due to injury. During the medal ceremony, He stepped onto the podium holding a small Spanish flag pin alongside her medal.

“It was such a beautiful gesture,” Zulfa said. “She acknowledged her opponent’s effort even while celebrating her own achievement.”

For Zulfa, the moment perfectly captured the essence of sportsmanship. “Winning matters, but respect for your opponent is what truly defines sport,” she said.

Sharing gold, sharing glory

Similarly, Vindula Lakshan pointed to another unforgettable Olympic moment that demonstrated how compassion can transcend competition. He recalled the widely celebrated incident during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim chose to decline a jump-off and share the Gold medal instead, after both athletes cleared the same height. 

“That moment honestly gave me chills,” Vindula said. “Both athletes had fought back from serious injuries and could have pushed to compete against each other for a single winner. Instead, they chose to share the victory. It reminded people that sport is not always about defeating someone else; sometimes, it is about celebrating achievement together.”

He added that the visible emotion shared between the athletes made the moment even more powerful. “You could see how genuine it was. It didn’t feel staged or symbolic. It was two competitors respecting each other’s journey.”

Humanity on the track

Vinod Yapa highlighted another recent Olympic moment that captured global attention during the Tokyo Games, involving American runner Isaiah Jewett and Botswana’s Nijel Amos during the 800-metre semi-final. The two athletes collided and fell mid-race, but instead of reacting with frustration, they helped each other up and finished the race together.

“That moment showed pure humanity,” Vinod reflected. “They knew their Olympic dreams were likely over in that race, but instead of blaming each other, they supported each other. It showed that dignity and respect matter just as much as victory.”

He added that the image of the two runners crossing the finish line together became a powerful reminder of the emotional resilience sport could teach. “Sometimes the strongest finish isn’t about winning; it’s about how you finish.”

Helping a rival rise

Meanwhile, Senali Pathirana recalled a touching moment from the 2016 Rio Olympics, involving New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin and American athlete Abbey D’Agostino during the women’s 5,000-metre race. After D’Agostino accidentally tripped Hamblin, both athletes fell. Despite injuring her own knee, D’Agostino stopped to help Hamblin back onto her feet, encouraging her to continue the race.

“That moment always makes me emotional,” Senali shared. “Abbey was clearly in pain but still told Nikki to get up and keep running. That is such a rare level of selflessness in a high-pressure Olympic race.”

She noted that both athletes eventually completed the race and were later awarded the Fair Play Award. “It showed that sport can create friendships and respect that go far beyond competition,” Senali said.

Victories that outlast records

Perhaps that is what keeps us returning to sport time and again, not just the thrill of victory, but the quiet reminders of humanity that emerge in its most intense moments. Medals tarnish, records are broken, and scoreboards are eventually forgotten, but gestures of kindness and fairness have a way of lasting far longer. 

From shared podiums and helping hands to small symbolic acts of respect, these moments remind us that sport, at its best, reflects the values we hope to carry beyond stadiums and arenas. Champions may be remembered for winning, but true sporting legends are remembered for how they treated those they competed against, proving that sometimes, the greatest victories are the ones shared.