7 Examples Of Incredible Sportsmanship At The Sochi Olympics

via NBCOlympics

The Sochi Olympics were marred by unfinished facilities, corruption accusations, the poisoning of stray dogs, hot weather, and 'dangerous' venues.

But there were a few bright spots amid the controversy.

This is what the Olympics should be all about.

1. Russian cross-country skier Anton Gafarov broke his ski in half during a race. After he crashed, a Canadian coach ran onto the course and gave him a spare ski so he could finish the race.

2. A Swiss cross-country skier waited at the finish line for 28 minutes after winning a gold medal so he could shake hands with the guy who came in last place.

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3. Two American snowboard cross racers crashed into each other at the finish line. Only one of them advanced to the finals, but they hugged anyway.

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4. For the first time ever, there was a tie for gold in an alpine skiing event. Slovenia's Tina Maze and Switzerland's Dominique Gisin, rivals on the World Cup tour, were pumped to share gold:

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5. Canadian speed skater Gilmore Junio gave up his spot in the 1000m to Denny Morrison, his teammate who fell at the Olympic Trials. Morrison won silver.

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6. American biathlete Tracy Barnes gave her spot in the Olympics to her twin sister, Laney. Tracy explained, "If I can be the one to give her that opportunity, than that is an honor and a sacrifice that I am willing to make."

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7. The German biathlon team's ski grinding machine broke on the way to Sochi. With no way to prepare the team's skis for competition, the Russian team let them use their machine, working together through the night so the Germans would be ready for competition.

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