At an extraordinary Olympics, acts of kindness abound

You’re a fighter!: Lotte Miller of Norway giving a pep talk to Claire Michel of Belgium after the finish of the women’s individual triathlon. — AP

TOKYO: A surfer jumping in to translate for the rival who’d just beaten him. Long-jumping friends agreeing to share a gold medal rather than move to a tiebreaker. Two runners falling in a tangle of legs, then helping each other to the finish line.

In an extraordinary Olympic Games where mental health has been front and centre, acts of kindness are everywhere. The world’s most competitive athletes have been captured showing gentleness and warmth to one another – celebrating, pep-talking, wiping away one another’s tears of disappointment.