Supplied GoFundMe
It’s the kind of story that perfectly illustrates the Olympic spirit.
Liz Willock had missed her flight to Philadelphia, so she caught a cab from the airport to her hotel. On the way, the blonde started chatting with her Uber driver, Ellis Hill.
They talked about how he came to be an Uber driver, and then moved on to the Olympics, when Willock mentioned that she knew someone who was competing at Rio.
But Hill had an even better story. He revealed that his son, Darrell, was competing as a shot-putter.
He explained that he couldn’t wait to see his son compete on TV, as he couldn’t afford the plane ticket to Rio.
“It was devastating to hear that,” Ms Willock told People. “Here’s this wonderful man who has a close relationship with his son and I know any parent would want to see their son or daughter compete at the Olympics.”
So when Willock exited the car, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She set up a GoFundMe page with a fundraising goal of $7500, according to The Washington Post – and just two days later had met her target.
Needless to say, Hill was overwhelmed. “People are people, so until they do something different, you expect the best out of people,” he said. “It’s an awesome thing.”
It’s a sentiment shared by his son, Darrell, 22. “This is my first Olympic Games and I’m 22 years old. Just being able to share this first experience with my dad means the world.”
Darrell competes in the shotput in Rio this Thursday.
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