Discover the True Heart of a Champion

Posted on Mar 20, 2018 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Steve Riach

The games of the thirty-first Olympiad in Rio provided thrilling competition. When the games closed, there were many reasons to celebrate: fewer illnesses than expected, fewer crimes, and no massive outbreak of the Zika virus.

Yes, there was Ryan Lochte and his antics, but that didn’t overshadow the truly great moments. Michael Phelps owned the pool once again. Two Simones shone—Biles in gymnastics and Manuel in swimming. The U.S. women swept the 110-meter hurdles. But the finest moment of the games had nothing to do with medals and everything to do with mettle.

By now, most everyone has seen the dramatic images of U.S. 5,000-meter runner Abbey D’Agostino tripping and tumbling over New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin, who had fallen in front of her during a qualifying heat. As you probably know, D’Agostino rose, helped a distraught Hamblin up, and then encouraged her to finish the race. “Get up,” she said. “We have to finish this.”

If you don’t know the rest of the story, there was a slight problem. As she started to run, D’Agostino realized her right knee wasn’t cooperating. She had torn her ACL and meniscus and strained her MCL. She collapsed in pain. But that’s not the end of the story.

D’Agostino got up again and hobbled around the track. Seventeen minutes and ten seconds later, she finished the race. At the finish line, she was met with a wheelchair and an awestruck Hamblin.

Olympic athletes prepare for a lifetime for one brief moment to reach for the ultimate crown. It seems that Abbey D’Agostino had prepared for a lifetime for her moment, just the way it unfolded.

“Although my actions were instinctual at that moment, the only way I can, and have, rationalized it is that God prepared my heart to respond that way,” she said in the aftermath. “This whole time here, He’s made it clear to me that my experience in Rio was going to be about more than my race performance—and as soon as Nikki got up, I knew that was it.”

Pure gold.

Said Hamblin afterward, “I’m never going to forget that moment.”

Neither will I.