God plays an important role in the Olympics. As far as former U.S. Olympic gymnasts Dominique Dawes and McKayla Maroney are concerned, they wouldn't have been able to achieve all their amazing athletic feats without His help.
The two appeared before "Good Morning America" on Tuesday and discussed the 2016 U.S. women's gymnastics team, according to Charisma News. When ABC co-anchor Lara Spencer asked the ladies how this year's gymnastics team is handling the pressure of competing in the Olympics, the two athletes credited God for guidance — and the Bible verse Philippians 4:13.
"What do you think they do in the moments before?" Spencer asked. "How do you control your breathing when you're ... when you're walking out there and you have to look totally composed and we did talk a little bit about game faces that we're seeing. How do you guys ... how do they do it today?"
One would assume that the athletes would answer exercise or proper eating habits, but the Olympians believe in faith.
"I always relied on my faith," answered Dawes. "I always had a prayer in my head: 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Many of those young girls may have that same mindset as well."
"Yep," Maroney agreed. "Amen."
As for gold medal gymnast Laurie Hernandez, her favourite passage comes from Proverbs 31.
"When I hear that, that's me in a Bible verse. I don't fear the future anymore," Hernandez said. "I just wake up thanking God for another day and go to sleep thanking God for another day. Sometimes, things just don't work out and so you just gotta let God push you through those rough times."
Meanwhile, U.S. Olympic divers David Boudia and Steele Johnson, who won the silver medal in the Men's synchronised 10m. platform at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, also proudly proclaimed that "our identity is in Christ."
Despite being a returning Olympian, Boudia still feels stressed competing in the Olympics, noting the overwhelming pressure to do well, which he said can get maddening.
"You know, it's just an identity crisis. When my mind is on this, thinking I'm defined by this, then my mind goes crazy, but we both know our identity is in Christ," he said.
Johnson, who is a newbie, could not help but agree. "The fact that I was going into this event knowing that my identity is rooted in Christ and not what the result of this competition is just gave me peace," Johnson told CNS. "It gave me ease, and it let me enjoy the contest."
