The Story Of Isaiah Jewett and Nijel Amos From Today's 800m Heat Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity

I really needed this. Just what the doctor ordered. 

After watching my buddy get shipped to the evil empire for a couple of bat boys on Thursay I was all but out on sports.

Just the A Bronx Tale scene about Bill Mazeroski's blast making Mickey Mantle cry playing on loop over and over again.

Sports suck. People suck. I think it's safe to say that even George and The Human Fund would agree that Humanity as a whole is at an all-time low. 

The weekend was going pretty well watching Rizzo, Bryant, and Baez all hit yabos while I further devolved into what was shaping up to be a nice career as a nihilist.

But that all changed when Botswana’s Nijel Amos inadvertently tripped American Isaiah Jewett from behind and the two middle-distance runners collapsed on the track.

A lesser man, one who believes in nothing, a new card carrying nihilist such as myself, would have probably come up fists clenched in a fit of rage. 

A whole life of 4 am wake-ups, training for 5 hours a day, infinite amounts of wind sprints, all building towards one shot at a gold medal one day, only to be stripped away from you? 

I think USC's Isaiah Jewett would have got a pass from just about anybody if he'd reacted that way. Or if he'd just crumpled into a ball of tears.

But nope. 

Isaiah took the less traveled high road here. Extended his hand in a show of TRUE sportsmanship, and finished the race arm in arm with the man he will forever be synonymous with.

It's a lot easier when you're the one that fucked up, Nijel Amos in this case, to put your hand out and say sorry. Unless you're a pyschopath, you know when you fucked up. Decent people feel guilt, and apologize. It takes a real person of character to be the one that was wronged (on purpose or accident), Isaiah Jewett in this case, and extend the olive branch or openly accept an "I'm sorry." Especially when you were set to finish in the top 2 and qualify for the medal race.

But we shouldn't really be surprised. By all accounts, this man is an all-around class act and upstanding individual.

There is hope for this world yet.

**** UPDATE ****

What exactly happened to cause the fall is still under debate, but World Athletics has clearly decided Jewett was at fault, as Amos has been advanced to the final on appeal, while Jewett’s 2020 Olympics have come to an end.

Message board poster RunTV has posted a slow-mo clip that shows Jewett’s leg making contact with Amos, before Jewett falls and takes out Amos behind him.

Lets Run - After the fall, Ferguson Rotich of Kenya crushed everyone over the final 100 and won the heat in 1:44.04, running the fastest time for the 2nd straight day.

Afterwards, Jewett told Lewis Johnson of NBC that Amos clipped him from behind. He said, “I was super disappointed but I saw that Nigel was also disappointed. And he kind of like looked at me and said like, ‘I’’m sorry.’ And I was like let’s just finish the race. And I just wanted to, at least finish. That’s what my mom tells me, ‘Always just finish what you started.”

“Honestly, I’m just glad that I’m here. I hope I can get into the final because I really wanted to run, and like to show everybody who I am. At the end of the day, I’m glad that I’m here. Hey, I worked hard to get here so hopefully they can get me into the final, but it’s ok.”

Amos said, “I’ve got a cut on my leg but I don’t know what happened.” He added to LRC, “I’ll go watch the video but I don’t think the protest will get me in, but I’ll try.”