Olympic Athletes: Faith More Important than Gold Medals

How encouraging to have Christian athletes on the Olympic stage.

It takes years of sweat, pain and determination to qualify for the Olympics, but some of the world’s top athletes heading to Beijing want the world to know there is something more important than winning gold medals – a relationship with God.

Allyson Felix, three-time U.S. Outdoor 200m champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist; Brian Clay, 2004 Olympic decathlon silver medalist; and Ryan Hall, 2008 Olympic marathon runner, are just some of the Olympians competing in the 2008 Beijing Games that are sharing the importance of their Christian faith with fans.

“My faith is definitely the most important aspect of my life,” wrote Felix on her page in BeyondTheUltimate.org. “I was nowhere close to the perfect child. I had my share of difficult times along with some disappointing choices that I made, but thankfully God never stops loving me.”

“There really has to be a purpose there I think that’s what drives success,” Felix shared. “I know my talent is from God. And that’s my purpose: to run to glorify Him.”