How athletes are sharing their faith and pointing to God. (Updated whenever we get another good story.)
For most spectators, the Olympics are a display of the highest level of athletic skill. But for many Christian athletes, they provide an opportunity to express their faith to each other and to the world. Below are some of the most memorable moments of Christian expression at the Paris Olympics.
This post will be updated throughout the Olympics. If you see a story you want highlighted, feel free to email us at ctglobal@christianitytoday.com.
One hundred years ago, Eric Liddell declined to run the 100 meters on a Sunday at the 1924 Paris Olympics, made a last-minute switch to the 400 meters, and won a stunning gold medal. On August 8 of this year, one of the most visible evangelical Christians at the 2024 Paris Olympics delivered an equally stunning performance at the same distance—with 10 hurdles in the way.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who qualified for her first Olympics while still in high school, broke her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles. Her time of 50.37 seconds won gold with 1.5 seconds to spare. Proportionally, that would be like winning a marathon by more than three minutes.
Video of the race shows McLaughlin-Levrone and her chief rival, Femka Bol of the Netherlands, virtually even through six hurdles. But while Bol stutter-stepped and struggled to maintain balance over the last three hurdles—a usual experience for mere mortals in this grueling event—McLaughlin-Levrone ran them in perfect stride, with alternating takeoff legs, as if not even fatigued.
McLaughlin-Levrone has made her Christian testimony widely known through numerous interviews and her book Far Beyond ...
