"Thank you very much, my friend. Only you could lift me up. I was very hurt"

03 Aug. 2024

"Thank you very much, my friend. Only you could lift me up. I was very hurt"

“The most important thing is not winning but taking part.” Pierre de Coubertin, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) founder coined the saying, which eventually became a true motto of the competition.

The three values of olympism are excellence, respect and friendship. They constitute the foundation on which the olympic movement builds its activities to promote sport, culture and education with a view to building a better world.

The original values of Olympism as expressed in the Olympic Charter were to “encourage effort”, “preserve human dignity” and “develop harmony”.

On Saturday, in the last matchday of the preliminary round of the women’s handball competition between Brazil and Angola, which took place in the South Paris Arena 6, those three values of the Olympic movement and Olympism were checked during an emotional moment, which saw Angola’s captain, Albertina Kassoma, suffer a knee injury.

It was a do-or-die match for both teams, with a quarter-finals spot reserved for the team which managed to win, as Brazil dominated from start to finish and delivered a 30:18 win.


Brazil were already up by ten goals, the win and the quarter-finals berth out of the question, when Kassoma fell down after missing a shot in the 36th minute. She received medical attention, but it was clear from the start that the injury will prevent her returning to the match.

After she was examined by Angola’s team doctor, Kassoma finally stood up, without putting pressure on the injured knee and tried to return to the bench, with the help of the Angola’s team doctor and Brazil’s goalkeeper, Gabriela Moreschi.

Yet the line player, one of the tallest at the Paris 2024 Olympics, at 1.85m, could not move. Enter Brazil’s fellow line player, Tamires Morena de Araujo Frossard, who carried Kassoma in her arms to the bench, with the 5.801 spectators in the South Paris Arena 6 frantically clapping their hands, recognising the fair-play gesture.

 

"The injury happened close to me. I kept playing at first because I didn't think it was that serious. When I saw her on the ground, I thought she wouldn't be able to get back up, because it's very rare that you fall and don't get up,” said Brazil’s line player.

The two line players shared a brief talk in Portuguese – their native language – during the walk, before Kassoma received more medical attention on the bench, eventually leaving the arena with a huge bag of ice on the hurt knee.

For da Silva Araujo, it was quite simple. This was not the first time when she met Kassoma on the court, as both play in the Romanian league, with the Brazil line player at Gloria Bistrița, while Kassoma features at Rapid București, teams which finished third and second respectively the last season, building a strong rivalry.

While rivals on the court, it was not a question about sitting idle and not giving a helping hand. In fact, the two are friends.

"Albertina is a friend of mine for many years. We both play in Romania. There was no way I couldn't help her, because I knew it would be very difficult for her to leave the court.I have a special affection for her. I respect her work a lot,” added de Araujo.

What did the two talk about during those moments that will be etched into the handball competition’s history at the Olympics?

"She said: 'Thank you very much, my friend. Only you could lift me up. I was very hurt'. Now she will recover. I hope she comes back well. We are both elderly (laughs), and friends who sit down for coffee and chat. We don't have much time to go out at night, but we are lifelong friends,” said the Brazil line player.

However, de Araujo had reasons to cheer after the end of the match, as Brazil qualified for the quarter-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, thanks to the 30:18 win.

“I respect the Angolan team a lot. They've had a wonderful journey. Unfortunately, one team had to be out, but that's what sports are all about,” concluded Brazil’s line player.