Jacqueline Nyetipei Kiplimo was running to win.
In the Zheng-Kai marathon in China, the Kenyan noticed that another athlete was struggling forward: she had no arms and could not hold the cups of water at the aid stations. Kiplimo slowed her pace and stayed by her side. Kilometer 10, kilometer 20, kilometer 38. She brought the water closer to her, kept pace with her, accompanied her when no one would have blamed her for continuing alone toward first place.
That decision cost her the lead. She crossed the finish line second, without the prize money or the gold she had almost secured. But what she lost on the scoreboard, she gained elsewhere: she reminded an entire country, and now the world, that there are races where being in first place is not the most important thing. Sometimes winning is simply not letting go of the hand of the person running beside you.