“It’s the most natural thing in our sport,” Ann Vogel said. “In cross country when you’re out in the woods you hear kids encourage each other to keep going. If someone passes someone, they say, ‘Come on, keep going.’ Meghan has grown up with so many great examples.”
So why has this one, simple act of charity resonated with people from the United Kingdom to Uganda?
There are many possible explanations, beginning, I think, with the striking photo by Mike Ullery of the Piqua Daily Call — a Pieta-like image of Vogel with her arm draped around the shoulder of Arden McMath, limping and in obvious pain. It’s a picture that launched a thousand Facebook posts, many of them accompanied by the Ben E. King classic “Stand by Me.”
“People love examples of good sportsmanship and doing the right thing,” speculated Jonnie Shoemacher, a swim coach for Kettering Fairmont High School and Crestwood Swim Club. “What she did was so profound and so human and compassionate.”
A Dayton youth track coach Cara DiSalvo posted the video clip on her Facebook page. “It shows the sense of camaraderie in the running community,” she said. “For her to stop and help a fellow runner went beyond the event and revealed her character as a person.”
Vogel’s disarmingly genuine television presence certainly added to the inspirational tone of the event. When asked about the roar of the crowd when she stopped to help McMath, she replied simply that she hadn’t noticed it; she was focused on the other girl. As for the generous act of making sure that McMath crossed the finish line first, Vogel replied, “She was ahead of me the whole race; she deserved to finish before me.”
Vogel deflected praise by saying it’s what anybody would have done — again, her tone was sincere, without a trace of false modesty.
And she may be onto something. The default position on a story like this, after all, is that it’s a rare show of good sportsmanship in a nation where that’s becoming a rarity. We certainly see shocking instances of poor sportsmanship — often more from the fans or the parents, frankly, than from the athletes themselves. Just as if everyone has forgotten that the true purpose of youth sports is building character, here comes a powerful reminder.
But is Meghan’s selfless act truly as rare as all that? While it was no doubt moving and inspirational, it also represents the finest in young athletes — something that is seen more often than it is acknowledged.
“We hear about the bad stories all the time, but good sportsmanship is still the norm,” noted DiSalvo, who coaches Catholic Youth Organization track and cross country for runners aged 7 to 13. “I have one 9-year-old runner who wouldn’t leave the track until he said ‘Great race!’ to every runner.”
While Ann Vogel is startled by the national, even international attention, she’s glad that her daughter has sparked a dialogue about “what sports is supposed to be all about.”
DiSalvo suspects she’ll be telling the story to her runners for years to come: “Her act was so inspirational, gracious and humble. Every day I am thankful to be part of the running community.”
Shoemacher said it’s a timely reminder of the Olympic Creed — something she loves so much it has twice been printed on Crestwood swim team T-shirts:
“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
Shoemacher said that Vogel’s simple act of kindness puts the lie to the oft-quoted sports aphorism that “winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”
Countered Shoemacher, “Well, it sure isn’t. This was spectacular and a reminder that people love examples of good sportsmanship and doing the right thing.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2209 or mccarty @DaytonDailyNews.com.
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