Abbey D'agostina says 'God prepared my heart' after she stops mid-race to help up, encourage fellow athlete to finish race

It was an emotionally charged moment that resounded loudly across the globe. The Olympic spirit was in full display as Christian runner Abbey D'Agostino committed an astonishing selfless act during a qualifier for the 5,000-meter race. However, she has said it was a natural gesture of goodwill that God had prepared her to do.

Described as one of the most decorated Ivy League athletes, D'Agostino, 24, of Topsfield, Massachusetts, had all eyes on the finish line as she ran by the 2000-meter mark. But in a split second, she found herself tripping over someone and falling to the ground. Instinctively she got up but did not continue running like most athletes may be inclined to do, instead she turned around and stopped to lend a helping hand to her fallen rival, Nikki Hamblin, and encourage her to finish the 5000-meter qualifying race together.

D'Agostino said to Christian Today, "Although my actions were instinctual at that moment, the only way I can and have rationalized it is that God prepared my heart to respond that way. This whole time here, he's made clear to me that my experience in Rio was going to be about more than my race performance — and as soon as Nikki got up, I knew that was it."

The American Olympian didn't have it easy after stumbling and helping a fellow athlete, USA Today News said. D'Agostino tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) when she fell, yet she hobbled for more than a kilometer to the finish line with Hamblin, who helped her in turn when she fell along the way due to her injury.

Both athletes finished in the bottom two but given the circumstances and their amazing example to the world of the Olympic spirit, officials included their names as qualifiers for the final race. Unfortunately, D'Agostino was unable to run the Final due to her seriously damaged knee, but the example she set for millions of eager young athletes around the globe will reverberate for years to come.

"We just thanked each other. I think we were both speechless at the fact that we were able to share a moment like that. We both realized it was about so much more than our performance that day," D'Agostino said after the incident.