Now that Euro 2024 is behind us, many of you will be looking forward, with great anticipation, to Friday 26 July 2024 when the opening ceremony for the XXXIII Olympiad takes place in Paris and to the opening ceremony of the Paralympics which takes place on Wednesday 28 August.

For many athletes, competing at an Olympic Games is the pinnacle of their sporting career when they are, in the words of the Olympic motto:

Olympic Motto

Which, when translated from Latin to English, means: ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ than their compatriots. However, whether athletes win a medal, or fail to qualify beyond the opening round, the age old maxim: “It’s not the winning that counts but the taking part” is very true.

CORE VALUES
The three values of Olympism are excellence, respect and friendship. They constitute the foundation on which the Olympic movement builds its activities to promote sport, culture and education with a view to building a better world.

The original values of Olympism as expressed in the Olympic Charter were to “encourage effort”, “preserve human dignity” and “develop harmony”.

Over time, they have evolved and are now expressed in more contemporary terms as:

  • Striving for excellence and encouraging people to be the best they can be.
  • Demonstrating respect in many different manners: respect towards yourself, the rules, your opponents, the environment, the public, etc.
  • Celebrating friendship, which is quite unique to the Olympic Games – an event that brings people together every few years.

This is the idea of setting your rivalries aside. There is more that unites us than divides us.

Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

PRINCIPLES OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT
The principles of Olympism highlighted below describe how Olympic values are expressed to create positive social change:

Non-Discrimination. The Olympic Movement strives to ensure that sport is practised without any form of discrimination.

Sustainability. The Olympic Movement organises and delivers programmes in a way that promotes sustainable economic, social and environmental development.

Humanism. The Olympic Movement’s activities place people at the centre of its attention, ensuring that the practice of sport remains a human right.

Universality. Sport belongs to everyone. In all its decisions and actions, the Olympic Movement takes into account the universal impact sport can have on individuals and society.

Solidarity. The Olympic Movement is committed to developing programmes that, together, create a meaningful and comprehensive social response to issues it can help address.

Alliance between Sport, Education and Culture. The Olympic Movement is committed to promoting the spirit of Olympism – the point at which sport, culture and education converge.

Who might be your favourite Olympian? It’s a difficult choice isn’t it? I think mine would be Daley Thompson – it’s an age thing! He was one if the first UK Athletic superstars of my generation. However, there have been some amazing Christian athletes who have competed in the Olympic Games, I want to mention three:

Eric Liddell

Eric Liddell was made famous in the film Chariots Of Fire. Liddell was born in China, to missionary parents, but returned to Scotland when his parents retired!  He played on the wing for Scotland at rugby and was known as a ‘flyer’. He was encouraged to take up athletics and qualified for the 1924 Olympics. Liddell’s specialist event was held on a Sunday and, because of his faith, he declined to take part.  He nearly didn’t run in any race, but he was given an opportunity to run in the 400m later in the week. He ran the qualifier, semi and final all in one day and, against all odds, he won the gold medal.  Just before the race, an American competitor handed Liddell a piece of paper with the following Bible verse from 1 Samuel 2:30 written on it: Those who honour me I will honour. Liddell said this inspired him to win the race. NB. It won’t have escaped your notice that 2024 is the 100th anniversary of Liddell’s famous win.

Jessy Owens

Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin (100m, long jump, 200m, 4×100 relay). Owens not only established himself as an all-time Olympic great, he countered the propaganda of racial superiority of the Third Reich. Years after he wowed the Nazi home-crowd with his exploits, Owens published an autobiography where he wrote about the:

Odds against which he struggled, the friends and family that gave him strength, and the God who answered his prayers.

Carl Lewis

Carl Lewis is one of the most successful Olympians of all time.  He won nine gold medals (in 100 metres, triple-jump and the long jump) yet he says that his faith is more valuable to him than gold. Lewis’ faith was not compromised by his success and he now travels the world speaking about what being a Christian means to him and how it’s helped him through difficult times. He speaks about how, when his father died from cancer just before the 1988 Olympics, he couldn’t see how he would continue:

We were extremely close and it was a very difficult time. I would not have been able to handle it without my faith. When my father died, I buried the 100 metre gold from the 1984 Olympics with him. He inspired me to go on and become the best I could be in the 1988 Olympics.

The Bible teaches us that we are all winners if we follow Jesus. He knows exactly how we should run the race of life. We just need to do what He teaches us and we’ll win the prize that he has for us.

An Olympic Prayer

Heavenly Father, giver of joy and source of all strength, we pray for those who prepare for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

We pray for the competitors training for the Games and their loved ones and for the the many thousands who will support them as people of many nations come together.

In a world where many are rejected and abused, we pray for a spirit of tolerance and acceptance, of humility and respect and, especially, for the health and safety of all.

May we at the last be led towards the love of Christ who is more than gold, now and forever. Amen.