Koinonia - Why I Love the Olympics

This past Friday Koinonia watched the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. It is difficult to express in words what we saw, but it was a mixture of awe, wonder, excitement, and intimidation. Everyone was blown away by the sheer magnitude of the spectacle. WOW. Even people who were remotely connected to China were suddenly being filled with Chinese nationalistic pride. Needless to say, I am really excited about this year’s Olympics.

There are so many things about the Olympics that I love. There's the awe-inspiring physical skill and strength of the athletes. There's the national pride in which the athletes compete not just for themselves, but for something greater than themselves. Then there are the things in the Olympics that simply transcend sports. In history, there's Jesse Owens winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (embarrassing Hitler and the Nazis), the U.S. Men’s Hockey team defeating the Soviets in 1980 (inspiring America in the midst of the Cold War), and Eric Liddell refusing to run on Sunday (honoring God first above country).

A few years ago, I saw a replay of an Olympic moment from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics that impacted me. It was a simple yet memorable last-place finish by a sprinter, Derek Redmond, from Great Britain. He was one of the favorites to win the 400m dash, but collapsed in the middle of the race because he tore his hamstring. Courageously, he still tried to finish the race, but struggled. Then a figure from the stands broke through security and rushed to help Derek while Derek was weeping. They finished the race together. Who was that figure? It was his father.