Three amazing examples of sportsmanship at 2024 Paris Olympics

Nearly 7,000 athletes from 205 countries are in the Olympic Village for the ongoing Paris Games. While the athletes are all gunning to take home medals for their respective nations, they are forged by a kinship that transcends even the colors they don or the flags they represent.

At the core level, they are athletes who can relate to one another's lifelong sacrifices and pursuit of excellence.

Here, we highlight three examples of exemplary sportsmanship that capture the spirit of the Olympiad.

The bow seen around the world

The American duo of Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles had reason to be disappointed after failing to capture gold in the women's gymnastics floor final on Monday. Instead, they showed appreciation for the gold medalist, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, by bowing down to her at the podium.

Biles and Chiles later revealed they were thrilled for Andrade to capture an elusive gold medal after she failed to finish at the top of the podium in her previous attempts. They were genuinely happy for her.

Paying homage to an injured soldier

This triggered the waterworks among onlooking journalists and fans.

China's He Bing Jiao held a small pin of the Spanish flag in her right hand after she won silver in the badminton women's singles final on Monday. Why? Because Jiao got a lucky break in the semifinal when Spain's Carolina Marin was forced to withdraw due to an injury when she was leading in the match. Jiao essentially acknowledged Marin deserved to be in the gold medal match more than she did.

Even Spanish basketball legend Pau Gasol was moved by Jiao's gesture.

Cheering on for a world record

Imagine rooting for your opponent after you've just lost the gold medal to him? That's what happened Monday night after Team USA pole vaulter Sam Kendricks had his 5.95 meters mark beaten by Sweden's Armand Duplantis. At that point, Duplantis — having already secured gold — decided to pursue records for fun. First, he cleared the 6.10 mark to set an Olympic record. One attempt later, the Swedish sensation cleared an incredible 6.25 to set a new world record at Stade de France.

As Duplantis made those post-gold medal attempts, Kendricks was his biggest cheerleader . And after the Swede broke the world record, Kendricks was the first to embrace him.

"Pole vault breeds brotherhood," Kendricks said of his celebration with Duplantis, via USA Today.

Heartwarming stuff. These tales remind us why sports will always be the greatest unifier.