She Just Won an Olympic Gold Medal, But Instead of Celebrating, She Turned to Comfort Her Rival

Japanese speed skater Nao Kodaira, who recently won the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, comforted her longtime competitor, South Korea’s Lee Sang-hwa.

Kodaira won the medal on Sunday in the 500m (meters) women’s speed skating event, setting a new Olympic record with a score of 36.94, while Lee only managed to earn the silver medal with a score of 37.33, Yahoo Sports reported.

Instead of celebrating her own victory, Kodaira immediately turned her attention to Lee to see if she was alright. The two athletes continued to skate alongside each other while Kodaira embraced Lee to console her when she began to cry.

Twitter users were touched by the display of sportsmanship:

While speaking with Japan Times, Kodaira went on to call Lee her friend, saying, “We have competed against each other for many years. I really respect her and I really look up to her. as a human being and a skater.”

“I respect her control as a skater,” said Lee, who has been rivals with the Japanese speed skater for more than 10 years. “We have a lot of memories. We have shared a lot together.”

Congratulations to Kodaira and Lee for winning the gold and silver medals.

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