Since emerging onto the international scene back in 2007, Meyers-Taylor has made sharing Bible verses with others a regular part of her routine. While competing during the 2017-18 season, for instance, she simply tweeted, “Iron sharpens iron,” which comes from Proverbs 27:17.
Meyers-Taylor is also a guest devotional writer in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes book Heart of a Competitor. Her story was based on Matthew 22:37–39, which she wrote challenged her to take on a unique perspective of the competition—even those competing under the banner of another flag.
“For me, that means loving everyone within my sport—even the German and Canadian athletes that I compete against,” Meyers-Taylor said. “Sometimes, that love is expressed through a giving attitude. If one of my competitors needs equipment or help with a problem, I’m going to do what I can for them, regardless of what team they are on. It’s not easy. It’s very hard to show that kind of love for others, but at the end of the day, that’s what I’m called to do.”
Meyers-Taylor says she feels called to be God’s representative through bobsledding and outside of the sport.
Katie Uhlaender is competing in PyeongChang in the sport of skeleton. In skeleton, the athlete rides a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down at terrifying speeds. She says, “It is all about letting go and finding speed by generating momentum with your body.”
The 33-year-old is headed to the Olympics for the fourth time, but she has yet to win a medal. Her path has been filled with disappointment but she says her faith keeps her positive and undaunted. “Quitting is never an option, so why would I quit on God?” she said. “He guides me and gives me the strength to keep going.”
Uhlaender’s father was former MLB outfielder Ted Uhlaender. He passed away in 2009.
Figure-skating couple Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim say performing in the Olympics is a dream come true but after overcoming a rare gastrointestinal disease that threatened both Alexa’s life and her ability to ever skate again, she now has a bigger goal than simply chasing gold.
“If you’ve never known down, you’ll never appreciate up,” she wrote in an Instagram post last year. “4 months ago, it was nearly impossible for me to ‘get up’ out of bed. 4 months ago, brushing my teeth was more challenging than any long program I’d ever performed. 4 months ago, when my body was at its weakest, my faith was at its strongest. When you’re faced with a challenge and you find yourself down–no matter how you might’ve gotten there–you have always have 2 choices: give up and lay there, or get up and fight for what you want.
Shortly after the free skate, Alexa and Chris opened up to reporters about the role their faith has played in strengthening them throughout this journey
“It’s the reason I was able to get back on the ice because I stopped worrying and stopped trying to control life, because I couldn’t,” Alexa explained. “In the moment, you know, I was so sick and didn’t really know where things were going to go for me, whether it was skating or life in general. So I finally just threw my hands up and said like, ‘You lead the way,’ and it’s my testimony and I stay true to it.”
She shares that the games are no longer about her, but rather about shining God’s handiwork on the platform she’s been given.
Paul often referred to the Olympic games in his epistles, one reference is in 1 Corinthians 9:25, “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”
These Christian athletes competing in PyeongChang are on track to pick up both.
