No hurdle's too high for Olympic star Sydney McLaughlin,,,
Among the many athletes who spoke about their Christ faith at the recent Olympics, American Gold medallist, world record holder and track sensation Sydney McLaughlin stood out.
McLaughlin, 22, was competing in her second Olympic Games in the summer of 2021 and stormed to the top of the rostrum, claiming Gold in the women’s 400-metre hurdles, breaking her own world record in the process.
She said: “Let me start off by saying, what an honour it is to be able to represent not only my country, but also the kingdom of God.
“What I have in Christ is far greater than what I have or don’t have in life. I pray my journey may be a clear depiction of submission and obedience to God.
“Even when it doesn’t make sense, even when it doesn’t seem possible, he will make a way out of no way. Not for my own gratification, but for his glory.
“I have never seen God fail in my life. In anyone’s life for that matter. Just because I may not win every race, or receive every one of my heart’s desires, does not mean God had failed.
“His will is perfect. And he has prepared me for a moment such as this. That I may use the gifts he has given me to point all the attention back to him.”
Prior to competing in the Olympic stadium, McLaughlin was wary of the pressure of social media as such a prominent star in the spotlight and opted to distance herself from the online world prior to taking part in the Games.
She added: “I think when you have a lot of outside voices coming in, it can definitely alter what you have going on internally. The more I can distance myself from that, the more I can stay as calm and as relaxed as possible.”
After setting a new world record in the event during the Olympic Trials to make the USA team for the Tokyo Games, McLaughlin repeated the feat during the Olympic final and knocked another 0.12 seconds off her own best time, beating fellow American Dalilah Muhammed to the top spot.
McLaughlin boasts more than 877,000 followers on Instagram, where her bio says, “Jesus saved me. I am saved by grace.” She regularly uses her social media platforms to share her Christian faith.
In 2020, McLaughlin posted a video of her being baptised in the sea at Los Angeles and said: “For 21 years I was running from the greatest gift I could ever receive. And by his grace I have been saved. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. My past has been made clean because of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
From Direction Magazine issue 230.
