Olympic Moments

On Tuesday night, Italy’s women’s gymnastics team earned the silver medal.  That was the first Olympic medal for their sport in 96 years!

University of Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh set a new Olympic record in the semifinals for the 100-meter butterfly.  For the finals, she lost the gold to her teammate, Torri Huske, by 0.24 seconds!  After receiving their medals, Torri signaled for Gretchen to join her on top of the podium for the playing of The Star-Spangled Banner.

 

Growing up, Stephen Nedoroscik competed in gymnastics.  He was known for going to the gym an hour early just to practice on the pommel horse.  Eventually, his father was able to locate and purchase a used one so Stephen could practice at home as well as the gym.  When he wasn’t progressing as much as he needed to on all of the events, Nedoroscik decided to turn his attention, time, and practice strictly to the pommel horse.  Self-described as “Nerdy,” Stephen graduated from Penn State with a degree in engineering and was part of the gymnastics team.  He spends the majority of Olympic competition waiting, encouraging and celebrating his teammates, and mentally preparing himself for his one event.  Because everyone did their part, the men earned bronze in their Olympic competition.

 

Katie Ledecky is the first female swimmer to win a gold medal at four different Olympics.  Not only did she win the gold for the 1500m in 2024, she set a new Olympic record.  During the 15-minute swim, Ledecky said, “I kind of let my mind wander during the race, thinking of all the people that have trained with me, just kind of saying their names in my head and thinking about them.”  She also thought about her Florida crew from her training grounds at the University of Florida.  Ledecky has now earned the most medals of any woman in Olympic history.

 

Jordan Chiles was on the verge of quitting gymnastics, due to her inconsistency in her events.  She was in a toxic training environment.  That’s when Simone Biles reached out and invited Jordan to move from Washington to Texas and train with her at her gym.  The first things they worked on were encouraging Chiles and building her confidence.  Then the work on the skills followed.  Two years later Biles and Chiles are competing in the Olympics together and won the team gold.  Jordan is known for being an encourager for her teammates.  An observer noted that everyone needs a Jordan Chiles in their life and then to be a Jordan Chiles for someone else.

 

Whether training for the Olympics or for life, may we be willing to put in the time, effort, and energy to use our gifts and abilities to make a difference.

 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25