Former Olympian on Tragedy to Triumph
Heartbeat pounding in your ears and tunnel vision to the finish line isn't a feeling most understand. At this year's 2014 Winter Olympics, thirty-six women will stand at the ready for the Ladies Long Track 1000 meter skate. I will not be standing next to them this year-but I will be with them nonetheless.
On the world's stage, it appears like athletes stand alone, accompanied only by the cheers from the crowd. But as our athletes head to Sochi this month, they won't be there alone. They will be accompanied by the prayers of many like me.
In 2010, I competed at my first Winter Olympics. It wasn't my first time in front of a crowd, but this feeling was different. This time, the world was watching. And yet, there was a calm barricading me from the pressure surrounding me, giving me unimaginable peace in the midst of the chaos. That feeling, I knew, came from God, carried on the prayers of all those who knew me and loved me.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Competing in the 1000 meter Ladies Long Track Speed Skating race at the 2010 Winter Olympic, I couldn't envision anything besides winning and continuing to compete. But the finish line came and went, with no medal around my neck. Still, I left with a sense of accomplishment and extra ambition for Sochi 2014.
And then, life happened. In 2011, I faced double knee surgery for crippling arthritis pain. Then in 2012, I almost lost my life to a bilateral pulmonary embolism with partial infarct - tissue death of my lungs. Not only did I lose my health, but I also lost all my funding and status from the U.S. National Team. Everything seemed to be collapsing. Suddenly, competing took on a whole new meaning. Now I was fighting for my life.
But I pushed through, not on my own but through constant prayer. The strength that came from each day's conversation with God helped propel me to the 2013 Fall World Cup team, something I felt confident would drive me to the next Winter Olympics.
Ready to race again on sport's biggest stage, I prepared my body, my mind, and my soul for the final competition. I assumed that God was orchestrating the ultimate comeback story-the one where I journeyed from the brink of death to the top of the winners' podium. Alas, it was not to be. I missed the 2014 Olympic Women's Long Track Speedskating team by one tenth of a second. All my training, all my dreams for a comeback vanished in a fraction of a second.
For every athlete who will earn a medal at the upcoming Olympic games, there will be several more who come up short. Every athlete at the games will have invested years of training and personal sacrifice. Each will enter the stadium of the opening games with dreams of Olympic glory. Most will leave without a medal. That is the reality of sport.
Most of us won't make it to Sochi to watch the Olympics unfold. The majority of us will watch from the comfort of our own homes. We will turn off our TVs and head to bed without much thought for the competitors who, just moments before, had captured our attention. But if we do, we are missing an opportunity to participate in a meaningful way in what is taking place.
I have seen first hand the awesome power of prayer to support athletes in failure and humble athletes in victory. That's why I encourage you to pray for those competing in the Olympic Games this year. Join with Athletes in Action, an international sports ministry, to pray for these athletes and coaches regardless of the country for which they are competing. Pray for grace in victory and comfort in defeat.
The Olympic stage is a lonely place. Hopefully this year, we can help athletes of every nation find strength in knowing that our prayers are with them.
