Liana Blomgren, a high school senior from Minnesota, lost her chance at winning a sectional cross-country meet when she noticed eighth grader Gracie Bucher struggling to make her way to the finish line. Gracie, who was later rushed to the emergency room and diagnosed with mononucleosis, continued to collapse each time she attempted to pick herself up again to complete the race. Liana understood that if she stopped to help Gracie, it would automatically disqualify her from her final prep competition, yet she chose to help out anyway.
"Thank you for being my angel," Gracie wrote to Liana in a heartfelt note two weeks after the event. Gracie also gifted Liana with flowers and a Diary Queen gift card. "Because I DQ'd her. I figure I better do it again," she told a local news station. "Knowing that she would do that, especially her senior year in her last race, it just means everything," Gracie added.
Liana's gracious display of sportsmanship is a leading example of why the state of Minnesota agreed to change how it will rule disqualifying runners in future cross-country meets. Starting next year, runners will not face disqualification for helping out other runners in need of medical attention. Sounds like a true victory after all.
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