Many Christians have been offended by various aspects of the Paris Summer Olympics thus far. The opening ceremony faced criticism on social media, with some calling it one of the worst in history due to the selection of artists and the way athletes were highlighted, according to Wide Open Country.
Despite these controversies, there were still moments when God’s glory could shine, specifically through the hands of a Brazilian skateboarder named Rayssa Leal.
Leal decided to use her winning moment to give glory to Jesus for her success. When the sixteen-year-old won the bronze for her country, she used sign language to quote John 14:6: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,’” according to The Christian Post.
When reporters interviewed her after her win, she said, “When I was very young, I dreamed of becoming a skateboard athlete. And here I am, with a second Olympic medal from the Games. Once again, thank God I won a medal. I’m very happy to be here.”
She added later that it felt like the crowd was “100 percent Brazilians” because so many Brazilian fans supported her.
“It was like a gold medal because … she had to make it,” Brazilian fan Michelle Arruda told CNN. “It was a lot of emotion and felt like the Olympic spirit – you have to be here to understand what it is."
“You get so nervous; it’s like you are there with them … We were literally praying, holding hands. It was like: ‘She’s going to make it.’ I don’t know how, but I really believed that she was going to make it.”
❗️🇫🇷 - Rayssa Leal, Brazilian competitor in the skate street competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics, qualified for the finals of the skate street category.
— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformant_x) July 28, 2024
She bypassed the persecution of Christians and rules against religious expression during games and sent a message in sign… pic.twitter.com/ePW5DKNJKg
Leal won the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics. At that time, she was the youngest Olympic medalist ever in Brazil.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Lars Baron/Staff
Elizabeth Delaney has been a freelance content writer for over 20 years and has enjoyed having her prose published in both the non-fiction and fiction markets. She has written various types of content, including Christian articles, healthy lifestyle, blog posts, business topics, news articles, product descriptions, and some fiction. She is also a singer-songwriter-musician. When she is not busy with writing or music, she enjoys spending time with friends or family and doing fun social activities such as hiking, swing dancing, concerts, and other activities.