The Paris 2024 Olympic Games came to an end on Sunday, August 11, with a closing ceremony in which the famous actor Tom Cruise, protagonist of the saga of Mission Impossiblestole the show.
After several controversies such as the parody of the Last Supper at the opening of the Olympics, many athletes shone for their faith in God, reminding the world, in secularized France, that the greatest and most important crown is that of eternal life.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
In addition to the Brazilians Rebeca Andrade, Gabriel Medina and Rayssa Leal, the Croatian Novak Djokovic and the British Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, many others have also given an important testimony of Christian faith.
The athlete Julien Alfred, a young woman from Saint Lucia, won the gold medal in the 100 meter dash and silver in the 200. After the first test and becoming “the fastest woman in the world,” Julien said: “I am happy. Every time I win I thank Him. I thank God for giving me the strength to have come this far.”
Noah Lyles, American sprinter who won the gold medal in the men’s 100-meter dash, had this to say to Premier Christian Radio: “I thank God for allowing me to go through each round with health, mental and psychological.”
Nicola Olyslagers, a 27-year-old Australian who competed in the high jump for a silver medal, is also known for her Christian faith, and is a co-founder of the ministry. Everlasting Crowns (Eternal Crowns), which seeks to “see brother athletes transformed by the perfect love of Jesus.”
“You are chosen, loved and you receive more than you need to do exactly what you are called to!” he wrote on his Instagram account in a post with a video showing his participation in Paris 2024.
Hezly Rivera, a 16-year-old gymnast who won the gold medal in the team competition along with Simon Biles and Jordan Chiles, among others, shared the team photo after the award ceremony, concluding a sentence with the Biblical quote from Isaiah 40, 31 which says: “But those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength; They will soar with wings like eagles, they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be weary.”
United States track and field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke her own world record and won the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles, attributes her success to God. “Honestly, praise God! I didn’t expect that, but He can do anything. Everything is possible in Christ. So yes, I am just amazed, bewildered and shocked,” she shared.
The athlete Emily Froelich, of the United States rowing team, commented in EWTN News in Depth who has realized that now, in Paris 2024, “God wanted to be glorified in this event and that the people who attend also represent Christ. “It may seem like God is not so glorified, but the lives of many have been touched.”
To John Malonefather of Brody Malome, who won the bronze medal in the team gymnastics competition, it is not this achievement that gives him the most pride, but the faith in Christ that his son has.
“As parents, we are called to raise good and productive people. As Christians, we are taught to raise our children as loving, caring, kind people, and (Brody) is absolutely that. That’s him in a nutshell, and that’s what I really want everyone to see,” he commented.
The young Canadian skater Cordano Russell took advantage of the presentation of the event in which he participated in Paris 2024 to remember that “Jesus is King.”
German athlete Yemisi Ogunleye, winner of the gold medal in shot put, said that “before the last attempt, I didn’t think about anything, I just raised my hands and prayed.”
“And that may seem strange to some people, but that is really the source of my peace and joy. “After I saw where the shot landed, when I knew it would hopefully be enough for the gold medal, I just knelt down and said, ‘Thank you, Jesus,'” he reports. Christianity Today.
Marileidy Paulino, the Dominican winner of the gold medal in the 400-meter dash, also thanked God after her victory. “I am very grateful to God for myself, for my work. “I have worked very hard to achieve this goal.” “I’m very happy, I still can’t believe this has happened. “It was going for the world record or the Olympic record, and thank God I achieved the Olympic record,” the young woman added, according to what she says. World Athletics.
But not everyone thanked the Lord for the triumphs, the British Cynthia Sember, who suffered a fall in the 100-meter hurdles race and did not finish the race, also offered a reflection focused on God.
“Nobody trains for years for something like this to happen. In one second, everything you have worked so hard for is over,” she shared on Instagram.
“I did everything I could, I’m in the best of shape, I was ready for something special. Everything was lining up, but that’s life. God’s plan is bigger and I will never forget that. He deserves all my adoration despite the trials,” she stressed.
Walter Sanchez Silva
I have been a husband since 2008. My wife and I have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before he was born. Since I joined ACI Prensa in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Cologne, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and of Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the Family synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Synodality, in 2023. I closely follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers persecution from the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as current ecclesiastical events in the region.