by Doug Binder
June 5, 2012
Meghan Vogel doesn't understand what all the fuss is
about.
Vogel, a junior runner for West Liberty-Salem High School
(West Liberty, Ohio), won the 1,600-meter title Saturday at the Division III
girls state meet at Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus. But it's what she did in
her next race that was most remarkable.
With about 20 meters to go in the 3,200, Arden McMath, a
sophomore from Arlington High School, collapsed in front of Vogel. Rather than
run by her, Vogel helped McMath to her feet and carried her across the finish
line, making sure to keep McMath ahead of her. "Any girl on the track
would have done the same for me," Vogel said Monday.
But Vogel's gesture resonated with the thousands of
spectators who witnessed it, as well as with the thousands more who have read
about the story or seen video of the race's finish.
By the time Vogel arrived home Saturday night, word of
her sportsmanship was spreading. She had 30 new friend requests on Facebook
within a few hours. Ohio media pounced on the story and lauded Vogel's selfless
act.
Monday was supposed to be a "pajamas day" at
the Vogel home in West Liberty, a day to relax after last week's conclusion of
the school year and the busy weekend at the state championships. Instead. it
was spent reliving the race. "The phone's been ringing a lot," said
Ann Vogel, Meghan's mother and coach. It wasn't Meghan's first act of
sportmanship on the track. A week earlier, at the state qualifying meet, West
Liberty-Salem was running fifth in the 4x800 relay when Vogel took the baton
for the anchor leg. She summoned a big effort and passed two other runners,
clinching a berth in the state championships for her team. Vogel was so wiped
out after crossing the finish line that she collapsed, and her excited
teammates rushed to her side to help her back to her feet. But then Vogel saw
one of the girls she had passed, a freshman who also had fallen. Vogel went to
the other runner and offered a hand up and a few words of encouragement.
"She was in fourth (one spot from qualifying for
state) and felt awful," Vogel said.
At the state championships, Vogel had a difficult
1,600/3,200 double. She won the 1,600 in a personal-best 4 minutes, 58.31
seconds, stepped onto the podium for photos and medals, talked to the local
media, and went to visit with her family.
That left her with about an hour to get ready for the
3,200, in which she was seeded seventh.
Three laps into the eight-lap race, Vogel was falling off
the pace. Her mother watched from the backstretch and could tell that her
daughter didn't have the energy to contend for another title.
"By that time it was a matter of just finishing (the
race)," Ann Vogel said. "I kind of joked with her about being in last
place because she's never been last. And every lap she looked at me and
smiled."
Vogel rounded the final turn for home and could see that
the only other runner who hadn't finished yet was faltering. And then McMath, a
runner Vogel had never met before, fell to the track.
Vogel never had a moment of doubt about what to do next.
"I remember moving to her position," she said.
"(McMath) was doing the best she could to keep her body upright. There was
a lot of shake in her legs, which is totally understandable."
The crowd cheered when Vogel stopped and the roar grew
louder as she and McMath moved closer to the finish line. Vogel purposely
steered McMath across the finish line ahead of her.
"We're a little bit of a minority being distance
runners," Vogel said. "I think we all have an instant
connection."
A race that had become pointless in the grand scheme of
the day for Vogel quickly took on a new meaning.
"I think fate may have put me (in last place) for a
reason," Vogel said.
Ann Vogel was across the track and couldn't see her
daughter when she stopped. But a coaching friend told Ann Vogel, "Ann,
look up at the screen."
She turned to the video board and saw her daughter
supporting another runner on her shoulder. "I ran around (the perimeter of
the track) as fast as I could," Ann Vogel said. "It wasn't easy to
get around with all of the people standing there but I was hearing the crowd
and I could see tears running down people's faces." McMath was quickly
scooped up by medical staff. By rule, a runner in track or cross country is
automatically disqualified for aiding another runner, but meet officials chose
to leave McMath and Vogel in the results rather than take action.
McMath was given 14th place in 12:29.90, and Vogel 15th
in 12:30.24. A half-hour after the race was over, Vogel grabbed her mother's
shoulder and said she felt dizzy and a little nauseated. Ann Vogel found a
trainer and together they moved Meghan to a tent. Vogel sat down with a cup of
Gatorade on a cot that was positioned next to McMath, who was lying down and
still recovering from dehydration and heat exhaustion. "She was still
pretty sick at that point," Meghan Vogel said of McMath. "Her coach
turned to me and said, 'Thank you.' " The two girls will meet again,
formally this time, Tuesday morning for an interview with the TV show "Fox
And Friends." The response to her simple gesture has taken Vogel by
surprise.
"It's been crazy. I can't understand why everyone
wants to talk to me, but I guess I'm getting used to it now," she said.
"It's strange to have people telling me that this was such a powerful act
of kindness and using words like 'humanity.' It's weird. When I hear words like
that I think of Harriet Tubman and saving people's lives. I don't consider
myself a hero. I just did what I knew was right and what I was supposed to
do."
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