Athletes and sports teams give thanks to God in Tokyo: 'Leave it in His hands'
With just days remaining in the 2020 Summer Olympics, several athletes representing their countries in Tokyo, Japan, continue to thank God for enabling them to achieve athletic success on the international stage.
Several American athletes have credited God for their athletic achievements, whether it was breaking world records or simply for the chance to compete. Additionally, athletes from other countries have also cast their praises on their Lord and Savior.
The Christian Post has covered some athletes who have been vocal in their faith, such as American hurdler Keni Harrison, who took home the silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles, and Sydney McLaughlin, who broke her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles.
Philippines’ Hidilyn Diaz made headlines when she clutched the Miraculous Medal of the Virgin Mary around her neck as she set a world record in weightlifting in addition to shouting “Thank you, Lord.”
But those athletes are not alone.
The list of competitors and even entire teams giving thanks to God or acknowledging their faith throughout the Tokyo Games continues to grow.
The following pages list athletes and teams who have given glory to God during the Summer Games.
Tamyra Mensah-Stock
American wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock won a gold medal for the USA Tuesday.
A reporter caught up with Mensah-Stock after her victory. When asked if she surprised herself, she responded: “Of course I surprise myself. It’s by the grace of God I’m even able to move my feet.”
“I just leave it in His hands, and I pray that all the practice, that the Hell that my freaking coaches put me through pays off. And every single time, it does,” she added. “I get better and better, and it’s so weird that there is no cap to the limit that I can do. And … I’m excited to see … what I have next.”
Mensah-Stock, draped in the American flag during the interview, rejoiced at the opportunity to represent the U.S.
In response to a question asking her how it feels "to represent your country like this,” the 28-year-old athlete declared: “It feels amazing. I love representing the U.S. I freaking love living there.”
“I love it, and I'm so happy I get to represent U-S-A!” she chanted.
Mensah-Stock is only the second American woman to win gold in freestyle wrestling.
According to NPR, Mensah-Stock became the first black woman to win wrestling gold in its relatively short history.
Fiji men’s rugby team
Sing it loud and proud, Fiji rugby! What great voices! #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/QdG3lT6MsW — #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 29, 2021
After winning a gold medal last week, members of the Fiji men’s rugby sevens team united in song on the field. They sang the hymn "E Da Sa Qaqa."
“We have overcome, we have overcome, by the blood of the Lamb, in the Word of the Lord, we have overcome,” they sang in their native language.
The Guardian reported that breaking into praise and worship songs is not uncommon for the Fiji men’s rugby team.
According to team captain Jerry Tuwai, “We always start with our prayers and songs, and we always end with our prayers and songs.”
“That song says that our God is a loving God, and that while we always tend to go stray from what He expects from us, He still loves us, and gives us good things,” he said.
The gold medal won by the Fiji team is one of two medals that the Pacific island nation has captured in the 2020 Summer Olympics thus far.
Athing Mu and Raevyn Rogers
Athing Mu, who won a gold medal for Team USA in the 800-meter dash Tuesday, praised God after becoming the first American woman to win the event since the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
“God definitely took the battle for this one!” she tweeted shortly after her victory. “So, thank you Lord!”
Mu’s faith is displayed prominently on her Twitter page. She wears a cross in her profile picture and retweeted one of her teammates, who gave thanks to God before she was set to compete in the same event as Mu.
On Saturday, Olympic runner Raevyn Rogers sent out a tweet proclaiming that “I made this final for a reason. It’s all according to His plan, and I know it will be revealed.” Rogers secured a bronze medal for the U.S. in the 800-meter dash three days later.
Like Mu, Rogers uses her social media platform to profess her faith, with her Twitter biography reading “Led by His guidance,” accompanied by an emoji of praying hands.
Mu, a student at Texas A&M University, elaborated on her faith in an interview with her college’s student newspaper, The Battalion, in June. She discussed the importance of Deuteronomy 28:13, which reads, “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.”
“As a follower of Christ, our main goal is to live in the image of Jesus in order to connect to God and ‘get’ to God,” Mu asserted. “I believe when God is ready to give you blessings, He gives it to you with all intentions. In this case, ‘keeping one at the top, never at the bottom.’”
