Praying to Win?

At the recent London Olympics, the International Olympic Committee’s list of rules for athletes expressly banned bringing religious printed material or books into the Olympic village and the stadiums. Even so, it could not hide from the whole world the faith of some of the athletes who competed there. The IOC thought a list of prohibitions would keep expressions of faith out of sight. It seems they haven’t noticed that as we move further into the 21st century, and as secularism tries to take over the world, more and more people are giving brave public witness to their faith. Here are a few examples.

The Jamaican Catholic Usain Bolt (who wore a medal of the Virgin on his shirt), after winning the 200 meters and becoming the first athlete to repeat the Olympic 100 and 200 meter double, knelt down right on the track to thank God. The BBC cameras immediately turned toward the crowd, so that viewers wouldn’t notice. Afterwards he wrote on Twitter, to more than a million and a half followers, that he wanted to thank God for everything He had given him, because without Him this victory would not have been possible.

The Ethiopian runner Meseret Defar gave us one of the most moving moments when, on crossing the finish line in the women’s 5,000 meters final and winning the gold medal, she took from her chest an image of the Virgin Mary, showed it to the cameras and pressed it to her face in a moment of intense prayer. Defar had entrusted her race to God with the sign of the cross and beat her compatriot and longtime rival Tirunesh Dibaba, who had started as the favorite. With tears of emotion, Defar showed the world the image of the Virgin holding the Child Jesus that had accompanied her the whole way.

The Latino American Leonel Manzano won the United States’ first Olympic medal in the 1,500 meters in 44 years. Born in Mexico and raised in the United States, Manzano drew the press’s attention first for his small stature (he is 1.65 meters tall) compared with his rivals, and then for the unusual way he crossed himself and prayed before the race. He stayed in a discreet second-to-last place, and just when it seemed the race was decided, he surged in the last 200 meters to take the silver medal, to everyone’s surprise. According to ESPN, after crossing the line Manzano knelt on the track to pray and thank God for the fruit of his sacrifices and of the long stretches he spends away from his home in Austin for training and competitions. In Austin he goes to Mass at St. Ignatius Martyr parish, whose pastor, Father Bill Wack, said the local Catholic community was proud of Leonel, not only for winning a medal but because he talks about his faith and thanks God for his achievements. Manzano told USA Today that during the race he felt as if he were in tenth or eleventh place and knew he was behind, so he just kept praying, asking his Heavenly Father to help him, push him and give him the strength to keep going. His strength, he said, had always been there, a gift from God he had had since he was about twelve, even if it had sometimes been overlooked.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian women’s volleyball team and its whole coaching staff knelt together on the court to pray a moving “Our Father” in thanksgiving for their victory in the final. With that win, 3 sets to 1 over the United States, Brazil took its second consecutive gold medal. It was the second Olympic title for coach José Roberto Guimarães, who had already won in 1992 with the men’s team; on that occasion, in thanksgiving to God, he had promised to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Guimarães thanked God and his family, telling a Brazilian news site that his wife had been praying in church for three hours, that he had prayed and asked more than ever in his life, and that he now had to walk the Camino again with her to keep his promise. At a press conference he said he wished he were a great writer so he could tell such a beautiful story, but that only a truly great writer could have written it, and that writer was God.

I hope a great writer comes along soon, one who isn’t embarrassed to talk about Faith and about God, and writes that wonderful story of Praying to Win. I’m sure it would be a huge best-seller.