Hezly Rivera, the youngest member of Team USA, recently gave glory to God after the USA Women’s Gymnastics team won a Gold Medal at the Paris Olympics last week. Rivera took to Instagram, highlighting scripture when celebrating Team USA’s monumental victory.
Reportedly, Rivera scored 13.900 in the uneven bars and 12.633 in the beam, finishing in 26th place. While the 16-year-old athlete did not qualify for the finals, she expressed gratitude for the opportunity to compete at the highest level of her sport at such a young age. Rivera wrote on Instagram, “OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST 🥹🥹🥇🥇💗couldn’t be more thankful and super proud of this team!! Isaiah 40:31 <3.”
Rivera told NBC after Team USA’s gold medal victory, “This was just an amazing experience, you know, and just being with the team and supporting them meant the world to me.” She added, “It was so surreal. I was just everywhere; my mind was everywhere. But I’m so happy to be here and this team has worked so hard, so I’m so proud of each and every one of us.”
The Christian Tribune has reported extensively on Olympic athletes from around the world expressing their Christian faith. Perhaps the proclamations of faith have been spurred by the Paris Olympics, which seemingly mocked Christianity in the opening ceremony and has drawn global criticism.
For example, 19-year-old Canadian Olympic skateboarder Cordano Russell honored God by shouting “Jesus is King” as the camera focused on him during his competition. The athlete has also expressed that he believes his involvement in skateboarding was aided by God’s guidance.
“Honestly, I feel like it was truly divine,” he said. “Like, out of all of the things that I could have found, a skateboard in the Midwest. In St. Louis, Missouri. It’s not a big skate scene out there like in Chicago or New York, you know? I’m like on the East Coast side in St. Louis, Missouri. I feel like it was truly destined for me to be a skateboarder.”
The Christian Tribune also reported on 16-year-old Brazilian Olympic skateboarder Rayssa Leal who communicated John 14:6 in sign language when the camera panned to her during her event. The Scripture reads, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Leal later told reporters, “Once again, thank God I won a medal. I’m very happy to be here.” Leal demonstrated great bravery in her expression of faith, as the Olympics have reportedly banned faith-related statements from athletes at the Games. According to the International Olympic Committee, Olympic venues and podiums must be “neutral and free from any form of political, religious, or ethnic demonstrations.”
Featured image credit: Hezly Rivera / Instagram