Faith and Olympics

The site of the ancient Olympics, held in honor of Zeus, featured a 43-foot-tall statue of the Greek god. Set up at Olympia in the fifth century b.c., the statue was one of the “seven wonders of the ancient world” until its destruction during the fifth century A.D.

By then the ancient Olympics were also no more: Emperor Theodosius in a.d. 393 suppressed them as part of his effort to make Christianity the official Roman religion. The modern Olympics celebrate the achievements of men and women, but one often-overlooked facet of them is the way some Olympians express thankfulness to God, many saying their faith makes them able to compete under pressure.

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps knew about pressure. The media hailed him as perfect, America’s golden boy, with a haul of Olympic medals. But inside, Phelps felt empty. He took drugs and he drank—a lot. In 2014, the police caught him driving 84 mph in a no-passing tunnel with a 0.14 percent blood alcohol content—his second DUI.

Phelps thought that was the end. He shut himself into his apartment for almost a week, not eating, hardly sleeping, obsessed with the idea of suicide. Then his longtime Christian friend, football star Ray Lewis, convinced him to check into a rehab center and gave him a book, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. A couple of days later, Phelps called him: “This book is crazy … thank you. … You saved my life.”

Phelps told ESPN the book taught him to believe “there is a power greater than myself and there is a purpose for me on this planet”—even after the gold medal pursuit ends. He determined to reconcile with his estranged father, stay in rehab, marry his girlfriend—and begin training for Rio.

On Aug. 13 he swam his last race, having gained 28 medals (23 of them gold) over five Olympics. With the five gold medals in Rio from two individual events and three relays, along with one silver, he retires at age 31 as the most decorated Olympian ever.

Some journalists wax sarcastic about athletes who thank God when they win, so the testimony of Morgan Brian, a member of the U.S. women’s soccer team, is important to recall as well. Brian came to her first Olympics dreaming of the gold medal her team seemed likely to win. Instead, lowly Sweden eliminated the United States in a quarterfinal shocker, and goalie Hope Solo made negative news by saying the defense-minded Swedes played like “cowards.” Brian, though, spoke of her Christian faith as a stabilizing force during the ups and downs of competition.

With U.S. attention naturally focused on U.S. athletes, many American journalists overlooked the Fiji rugby team, which won Fiji’s first-ever gold medal this year. Fiji fought its way through the tournament and found itself in a final so huge for the island country that its prime minister showed up to watch. Team captain Osea Kolinisau reminded his teammates, first-time Olympians, that the God they serve was with them in Rio, and He would give them strength to perform.

Fiji defeated Great Britain 43-7 in the final. Kolinisau did not forget his priorities. “First of all, I thank the Lord,” he said.