ICYMI: Top 7 moments of faith at the Olympics
The games of the 32nd Olympiad closed on Sunday, bringing an end to more than two weeks of competitions featuring the world’s most talented athletes.
Some competitors, however, made it clear that they were playing for more than their country.
Here are some moments where they shared their faith on the world’s stage:
1. Allyson Felix surpassed the U.S. track and field record for most Olympic medals, held by Carl Lewis, after winning her 11th Olympic medal, a gold in the women’s 4x400m relay.
The latest medal came just a day after the 35-year-old won bronze in the 400m. Of the 11 medals Felix has won, seven are gold, three silver and one bronze.
The day before she started to compete, she shared on her instagram how grateful she is for the opportunities granted to her by God.
“It might sound cliche, but getting to that starting line is an incredible victory for me. I’ve experienced the hardest years of my life in this journey and by God’s grace I’m here,” wrote Felix.
2. According to NPR, American wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock became the first black woman to win wrestling gold in its relatively short history.
During an interview with the press, she said “It’s by the grace of God I’m even able to move my feet.”
“I just leave it in His hands, and I pray that all the practice, that the Hell that my freaking coaches put me through pays off. And every single time, it does,” she added. “I get better and better, and it’s so weird that there is no cap to the limit that I can do. And … I’m excited to see … what I have next.”
3. Athing Mu, who regularly professes her faith on Twitter, won a gold medal for Team USA in the 800-meter dash. She praised God after becoming the first American woman to win the event since the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
“God definitely took the battle for this one!” she tweeted shortly after her victory. “So, thank you Lord!”
4. Olympic runner Raevyn Rogers secured a bronze medal for the U.S. in the 800-meter dash. She later sent out a tweet proclaiming that “I made this final for a reason. It’s all according to His plan, and I know it will be revealed.”
Rogers, who regularly uses Twitter to express her beliefs, has this in her Twitter bio: “Led by His guidance.”
Her family and her faith were critical leading up to the Games. In the past year she focused even more on making her relationship with God a priority. “Everyone’s been praying for me, and it’s been the most overwhelming but great thing,” she said.
5. American hurdler Kendra “Keni” Harrison won a silver medal for Team USA in the 100-meter hurdles.
She thanked God after securing the medal and in an interview following the event, Harrison proclaimed that “all the glory goes to God just to have this opportunity.”
“I learn from my mistakes,” she told NBC, according to Christian Headlines. “For this to be my first Olympics and to come here on this world stage, and represent my country to the best of my ability — all the glory goes to God just to have this opportunity. … Just to get a silver medal at this stage, it’s amazing.”
6. Basketball player Kelsey Plum lifted the USA women’s 3×3 basketball team to the gold medal.
Plum thanked God for her health and the opportunity to compete.
“I just want to thank a lot of people: God, my mom, my family, my friends,” Plum said. “I want to thank USA Basketball. They could’ve quit on me. They could’ve said, ‘We’re going to bring somebody else,’ and they didn’t. I’m just super grateful to my teammates, I mean, man, this was a battle.”
7. American hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin broke her own record in the 400-meter hurdle Olympic final and praised God as she took her first Olympic gold medal.
“Giving the glory to God,” McLaughlin declared of her victory. “It’s all, this season, hard work and dedication. And [I’m] just really grateful to be able to represent my country and to have this opportunity.”
Before heading to Tokyo, she also gave “glory to God” after setting her first world record in the Olympic trials in June. “Honestly, this season, just working with my new coach and my new support system, it’s truly just faith and trusting the process. I couldn’t ask for anything more and truly, it is all a gift from God,” she stated at the time.
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