Higher, Further, Faster
. . . for the Glory of God
Some Olympic athletes have more on their mind than winning a gold medal.
by Annette Wierstra
There’s something about sports that catches people’s attention. Ever since the first Olympics of ancient Greece, mankind has a love affair with sporting competition.
These days, professional sports leagues abound. New teams and leagues crop up each year. Even new “sports” such as the U.S. National Spelling competition, broadcast by sports networks ESPN and TSN, are capturing our attention.
Many of today’s athletes are placed on pedestals and worshipped as idols. Unfortunately, many have of those have become fallen idols.
With the 2000 Olympics coming September 15 to October 1 in Sydney, Australia, the world’s atention will be fixed on hundreds of athletes from around the globe. Some, however, will stand apart from the rest. They are athletes who don’t seek the spotlight and don’t want the glory. They go “go for the gold,” but their eyes will be on Jesus, the One they acknowledge as the source of their greatness and the joy in their life.
David Daniels
Country: Canada
Event: Point Guard, Men's Basketball
Major Accomplishments:
World Championships in 1998
Silver, 1997 World University Games
David Daniels made his first basket at four-years-old and since then basketball has been a huge part of his life. Raised in Fort St. John, B.C., everyone knew him as “David Daniels, the basketball player.”
“It became my god,” says Daniels. “My identity became very much wrapped up in basketball. I hoped when I reached my potential as a basketball player the rest of the pieces of my life would come together like a puzzle.”
A dream came true for Daniels in 1993. He tried out for the Denver Nuggets and played with the team in the NBA summer league. But not everything was going as Daniels planned.
“It was an exciting time,” says Daniels. “But God really used it to show me that just reaching my goal in basketball wasn’t really dealing with the emptiness and the void that I had inside of me.” A year later Daniels gave his life to Christ and it changed everything.
“The void that I couldn’t fill with basketball, relationships, alcohol or anything else that I tried, I didn’t fill until I received Christ,” he says. “The change has come through a personal relationship with Him.”
Now Daniels approaches basketball with a new attitude. Before he played for recognition, money and respect, now he plays for God’s glory.
It’s been a long journey for the 29-year-old Daniels but persistence has paid off. After years of hard work, tryouts, and being cut from the national team five times, he’s heading to the Olympics. “I know that all the glory for that goes to the Lord because on my own I wouldn’t have been able to continue,” he says.
“When I first gave my life to Christ in ‘94 one of my biggest fears was that when I surrendered my life to God that would be the end of it,” admits Daniels. “But in the last couple of weeks I have a renewed awareness of how much of a lie that was. I see that God has such great plans.”
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Penny Heyns
Country: South Africa
Events: 100 & 200 Metre Breaststroke
Major Accomplishments:
2 Gold medals, 1996 Olympics
World Record in 100 Metres Breaststroke
Twenty-four-year-old, Penny Heyns, began swimming as a child in coastal waters off of South Africa — and she’s been swimming ever since.
A winner of two gold medals at the ‘96 Olympics, Heyns’ career was rejuvenated after moving to Calgary a year ago. There, she re-united with Olympic coach Jan Bidram, but more importantly, with God.
In the Atlanta Olympics, Heyns not only captured gold medals in the 100 and 200 Metre Breaststroke, but also the heart of a nation as South Africa celebrated its first gold medals since 1952, and the first since the apartheid era. Heyns also shattered a world record in the preliminaries by clocking a 1:0702 in the 100 metres.
But there were many days when Heyns wrestled with her Olympic success.
“I realized there was more to this than medals and I had better wake up,” she says. “I realized had everything I wanted and I was empty.” In April ‘97 Heyns dedicated herself to walk with the Lord in all areas of her life.
While her faith blossomed, her swimming plummeted and Heyns considered throwing in the towel. But God had different plans.
“By the time I got to Calgary, God changed my heart. And I have had the most fun swimming since. I know I am swimming today because God wants me to swim, not for any other reason.”
Penny Heyns portion written by Stephan VanHelden. Originally published in Christian Courier.
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Jonathon Edwards
Country: England
Event: Triple Jump
Major Accomplishments:
World Record Holder
Gold, 1995 World Championships
Silver, 1996 Olympics
Silver, 1997 World Championships
He’s the king of the triple jump, holding the world record at 18 m 29 cm. Britain’s leaping wonder, Jonathan Edwards, is preparing for his fourth Olympic appearance.
Edwards is a veteran of international competition with an impressive list of accomplishments. But if you asked him what’s most important in life is, he’ll say it not his medals or trophies, but his faith in Christ.
“My relationship with Jesus and God is fundamental to everything I do,” says Edwards. “The basic philosophy of what I try and do is to glorify God through every aspect of my life. And that includes triple jumping.”
Edwards grew up in a Christian home in England; his father is an Anglican minister. Edwards can’t recall a day in his life when God wasn’t part of it. When he started to triple jump it was only natural that God would be part of that too.
“Being a Christian does help me to keep sport in perspective,” says Edwards. “I think God’s plan for my life is the same it’s ever been and that is to glorify Him, to obey His commandments.”
“By virtue of having faith in Him we can be reconciled to God, as a gift, not something that we can earn but as a gift. Then out of that gift we give our lives in service to God,” he says.
Part of Edwards’ life of service is to be a Christian role model in the public arena. Ultimately, he knows that winning or losing at triple jump isn’t important.
“It’s not so much in how far I jump that glorifies God — although the fact that the human body can jump 18 m 29 cm is testimony to what a great God we serve — I think it’s more in the way I come across as I win or as I lose.”
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Elana Meyer
Country: South Africa
Events: 10,000 Metres, Marathon
Major Accomplishments:
Silver, 1992 Olympics
Silver, 1994 Commonwealth Games
In South Africa, Elana Meyer can’t leave the house without being recognized. A ten year veteran of international competition, she is a national hero.
Her biggest moment came in 1992 when she won a silver medal at the Barcelona Olympics.
Meyer showed her true character that day. She was edged out for the gold in the last moments of the race by fellow African Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia. Instead of being upset, Meyer ran a victory lap hand in hand with Tulu.
“I had lost, yet I was so happy. I had won a medal and had gotten to compete,” she told Sports Spectrum magazine. “You can’t always win, but you can always give your best.”
The reason Meyer can face loss with a smile is that she knows that there is more to life than sport. “I am in the first place a Christian who also happens to be an athlete,” says Meyer. “The two aren’t separate compartments in my life.”
While Meyer has always believed in God, it was while attending university that her faith became real. Until then, she had the knowledge of Christianity but felt distant from God. When she overheard some fellow runners talk about the goodness of God she realized that things could be different in her life.
“Being a Christian involves having a day to day relationship with God,” says Meyer. “This was the first year that I began to live.”
Meyer plans to race as long as she can and as long as she does, God will get the glory for her success. “Athletics is just a gift, and without the Lord I would not have accomplished anything on my own,” she says.
“As the Bible says, ‘Let him that glories, glory in the Lord.’ ”
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Michael Chang
Country: United States
Event: Men's Single Tennis
Major Accomplishments:
Youngest man to win a Grand Slam singles title, 1989
Michael Chang became a household name in 1989 when he became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam title at age 17. Chang defeated tennis greats Ivan Lendl and Stefan Edberg to grab the French Open victory in a shocking turn of events.
In a sport where the average height is 6’2”, Chang’s success is even more remarkable. At only 5’9” and 150 lb., he is small for his sport, but it’s not something he worries about.
“There’s a reason God made me 5-foot-9,” Chang told Christian Reader. “If I go out and win a tournament, it’s really to God’s glory. It obviously had nothing to do with my height or anything else.”
While Chang has yet to win another Grand Slam title, he has remained in the upper echelon of the tennis world. Coached by his older brother Carl and supported by his parents, Betty and Joe, the “Chang Gang” is a regular feature at international tennis events.
Win or lose, Michael Chang is confident that God is in control of his life and career.
“God has His plans and His timing. I actually learn more from my losses than my wins,” he admitted to Breakaway magazine. “The nice thing with tennis is there’s always next week.”
Whatever’s ahead for Chang, he’s certainly not sweating it.
“Life has it’s ups and downs, but regardless of what’s happening in our lives, if we’re focusing on Him, we’ll have the joy that He gives us,” he says. “It gives me a great deal of satisfaction and comfort to know that no matter what happens, He will always take care of me.”
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