Learning from the Olympics and Paralympics

This year we’re in for a treat – the Paris Olympics and Paralympics will be blazoned across our screens and all over our social media. 14,900 athletes from 206 countries will be competing in 54 sports over the thirty days of competition, as well as enjoying spectacular opening and closing ceremonies in the Olympic stadium.

Sport is a wonderful gift God has given us. Christians in Sport explain it like this:

It may be a surprise to you, but sport is part of God’s good gift of creation. Sure, human beings are the ones who invent sports, but where does our playfulness come from? The creativity, the desire for human relationship, and the instinctive desire to play that all people, of all ages, across all cultures have, are all part of what it means to be made in the image of God.

God created laughter and fun and he loves to see his people using their passions and skills well, enjoying themselves and bringing joy to others. In the film Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell, a gold medallist in the Paris Olympics 100 years ago, said this: ‘God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure’.

There’s lots we can learn from the Olympics and it can prompt some helpful conversations as we help our kids see how God works in the everyday parts of their life. Here are a few ideas which you might find helpful in your house.

God has given us our talents for a reason

At the Olympics and Paralympics you will see the most breathtaking array of talents, from incredible artistry in the gymnastics, to sheer power in the weightlifting, and great feats of endurance in the triathlon.

Christians believe that God has given each of us gifts and talents, and Paul urges us to use them to serve others and help bring about God’s kingdom.

James 1:17 tells us that every gift is from God. We all have different talents and God-given gifts, but they are all important and can be used for God’s kingdom. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul is comparing the individuals in the body of Christ to different parts of the body. Even though each part serves a different purpose and has a different function, all are important in the whole and are needed for the body to function properly. It is the same with our talents; they are all different but each one serves a purpose.

Many Christian Olympians and Paralympians have talked about the talents God has given them.

Allyson Felix, who has won seven Olympic gold medals, said this: “For me, my faith is the reason I run. I definitely feel I have this amazing gift that God has blessed me with, and it’s all about using it to the best of my ability.”

Fanie van der Merwe, a South African Paralympian, talks about how God has taken his sporting talents and used them to be able to mentor and inspire young disabled athletes: ‘If you look at my journey, it’s undeniable that God opened doors for me to come into sport for people with disabilities’.

Ugandan runner Joseph Cheptegei uses his fame to speak out against female genital mutilation. And British rower Debbie Flood believes “God has put me in rowing to be a witness for Him. There are not very many Christians in rowing.”

God’s in it with us

I imagine that sitting on the start line of an Olympic rowing final or standing on a 10m platform waiting to dive might feel like a lonely place.

Olympian Samantha Schulz, a modern pentathlete, described the loneliness she sometimes felt as she prepared for the Olympics. “The lone workouts and trying to push myself left me feeling empty and isolated even with family, friends, and even my husband supporting me.” This article describes the struggles many Olympic swimmers have faced as result of the pressures of their sport.

Christians believe that however isolated or pressurised or lost they feel, they need never feel alone. When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, He said, “He will be with you forever” (John 14:16). God has promised never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5), and that means we can turn to him whatever situation we are in.

Despite the excitement and even the glory of being an Olympian, it can be tough and lonely. Christian Olympians have described the difference God makes.

Paralympian Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone said this “I think now I can show up to the track every day and understand that this is a gift He’s given me that win, lose, or draw, it’s an opportunity to glorify Him, and my value is already secure in Christ.”

It can be particularly difficult when you fail in sport, particularly if you have trained incredibly hard and feel you have now let everyone down.

Scottish swimmer Kirsty Balfour, a medal prospect at the 2008 Olympics, performed poorly in the heats and did not even make the semi-finals. Despite her desolation she felt God close to her and said “I felt I was standing on the rock of Jesus. I was able to say: ‘Yes, Jesus you are in it. You are here. This was your will.’ I had such assurance that God still loved me.”

And Team GB rower, Richard Chambers, who won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 said this: “I’m a Christian in the rowing team and that’s how I want to be recognised. Being a Christian in Team GB has its difficulties but knowing God is always there supporting and helping me is great.”

Keep your eye on the prize

Winning an Olympic gold is the ultimate sporting prize for any athlete! 36,600 gold, silver and bronze medals will be won at this year’s events.

Olympians often talk about how the prospect of winning a medal helps them stay focussed during long and gruelling training sessions; it’s what keeps them going as they manage injuries and sacrifice time with family and friends as they pursue their prize.

Kerri Strug, an American Olympic gymnast, badly injured her ankle during her first vault in the 1996 team final. But her vault was needed if the Americans were to beat the Russians for gold. Despite the pain, Kerri performed a near perfect second vault to win the team gold. Afterwards she said: ‘This is the Olympics. This is what you dream about from when you’re 5 years old. I wasn’t going to stop.’

Christians have a wonderful prize to aim for too. This is what Paul wrote in Philippians 3: 13-14: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The prize for Paul was one day to be with Jesus in heaven, knowing that he had served him to the best of his ability.

Eric Liddell said something similar, after he gave up sport a few years after the first Paris Olympics to become a missionary to China. ‘It has been a wonderful experience to compete in the Olympic Games and to bring home a gold medal … But since I have been a young lad, I have had my eyes on a different prize. You see, each one of us is in a greater race than any I have run in Paris, and this race ends when God gives out the medals.’

Eighty years later, Debbie Flood, Team GB rower in 2004 and 2008, said this: “Jesus is more important than a gold medal, because a gold medal is temporary. Gold medals will be forgotten about, and I won’t be taking [my medal] with me when I pass away.”

There’s a bigger picture

There are three Olympic values – respect, excellence and friendship – and four Paralympic values – determination, inspiration, courage, and equality.

Elite sportspeople dedicate extraordinary amounts of time and effort to succeeding in their sport – and the pressure to win can be huge. But many Olympians have demonstrated that there’s a bigger picture: that however important sport and winning is, there are more important things. There are many stories of Olympians demonstrating those values.

Lawrence Lemieux  was a Canadian sailor who abandoned his chance of winning gold in Finn sailing class at the 1988 Seoul Olympics to go and rescue fellow competitors who had capsized.

At the 1936 Olympics, Jesse Owens won the gold medal for the long jump – but only because his main rival, German Luz Long advised him how to change his run up. The two became firm friends. Remembering that it was Luz who was the first to congratulate him on his victory, Owens said this: “It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me. You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment.”

You can read other stories of inspirational Olympians here.

God is quite clear about the values he wants us as Christians to hold. Jesus summarised them like this:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

(Mark 12:30-31)

And the prophet Micah described God’s values like this:

And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

One great big family

The famous Olympic rings signify that the Olympics are a worldwide movement: each ring represents one of the five inhabited continents. At the Paris Olympics and paralympics there will be athletes from 206 different countries, and even a Refugee team, made up of 36 athletes from 11 different countries: a truly global Olympic family.

Many athletes develop friendships that last beyond the Olympics themselves: for example, German long jumper Luz Long and American Jesse Owens.

Sometimes friendship has been more important than winning: high jumpers Matuz Barshim, from Qatar, and Italian Gianmarco Tamberi had been friends since 2017, so when they tied for first place in the Toyko Olympics in 2021, they preferred to share the gold rather than compete further.

At the 1936 Olympics, Japanese friends Shuhei Nishida and Sueo Oe were both competing in the pole vault, and tied for second place. Choosing to share the honours, they refused to jump again but officials forced them to choose who would get the silver and who would get the bronze. After the Olympics the pair had each medal cut in half and fused together so each of them had a half silver, half bronze medal – which came to be known as the ‘medals of friendship‘.

Christians too are a global family. There are Christians in every country in the world – although in some they are in a tiny minority.

Because we are one family – the family of God – we are to care for each other like a family. In one of his last instructions to his disciples, Jesus said this: John 13:34-35. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This means loving our Christian family both at church and in other parts of the world, particularly those who are persecuted because they are Christians or are particularly in need.

Ways to explore these ideas further

Questions to start an interesting conversation:

• What skills or passions has God given you? What skills or passions do you see in others in your family?
• Do you think there’ll be the Olympics and Paralympics in heaven? Why or why not?
• Who do you know who represents God well? What do you seem them doing?
• What do you think God enjoys about the Olympics?
• Hebrews 12:2 tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus. What do you think that means? What difference would it make?
• What helps you when things are tough at school or work?
• How do you know God is with you? What’s it feel like?
• Why does God allow us to go through difficult things?
• When have you seen people ‘loving their neighbour as themselves’?

Things to try

• Read this article from Premier Christianity about Christian athletes at the Toyko Olympics. Which stories do you like? Which inspire you?
• Chat to someone who’s been a Christian for a long time. What helps them keep going?
• Check out the story of Paul who kept his eyes on the prize despite many hardships. What helped him keep going for God?
• Watch Chariots of Fire, the story of Eric Liddell. Did anything surprise you about the story? What was your favourite part? What do you admire about Liddell?
• Chat and catch with God about the skills and passions you have. Ask him what he would like you to do with them.
• Read the parable of the ten minas in Luke 19:11-27. Why do you think Jesus told the story?
• Share a story of how knowing God loves you has helped you face something difficult or keep on going when things have been tough. What did you do? What did he do?
• In your family, wonder together who God might want you to love.
• See if you can discover which Christians will be at the Olympics this year. How do you know they are a Christian? What difference does it make to them?
• As you watch the Olympics and Paralympics this year see if you can spot people who are ‘loving their neighbour as themselves’ or showing God’s values of humility, justice and mercy.
• Discover more about worldwide Christianity, particularly where it is hard to be a Christian. How could you show your love and support for Christians in those countries?

Free download

Why not download this printable to help initiate sports-related conversation about God this year?