This August, thousands of the world’s greatest athletes and gold-medal hopefuls will descend upon Beijing, China in the oldest and most prolific sports competition on earth. But as these athletes gather from Aug. 8-24, some of them contend with the ultimate victory already in hand — they know that gold medal or not, their greatest treasure is in Heaven.

Jane Rumball Country: Canada | Event: Rowing - Women's Eight

If you ask rower Jane Rumball what the three most important things in her life are, she doesn’t have to think long to answer. “God, my husband and my family,” says the 29-year-old. “Rowing and school take up much of my time, but if I didn’t have those three things my life would mean little.”

Perhaps those are different priorities than you would expect from the woman with a World Championship gold medal and medal potential for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Rumball sees her family as a necessary support structure. “My family knew me before I was an athlete and they just want me to live a happy and fulfilling life,” says the Fredericton, NB native. “My husband wants to see me pursue the things that God has gifted me with.”

God hasn’t always been a factor in Rumball’s life. But in her first years of university when her parents’ divorce, a failed relationship, and shattered rowing dreams all collided she was left with a sense of desperation and emptiness.

As she struggled with her own challenges she observed the life of a fellow rower who had been cut from the team yet seemed unfazed. “It bugged me that she could have that peace and hope when it seemed beyond my grasp,” Rumball says.

When she puzzled over what she saw in her former teammate, another friend helped bring it into perspective. “Someone from Athletes in Action explained to me that Jesus Christ had died for my sins, and that I could have real hope. I chose to believe it and my life was dramatically altered. Later I found out that my teammate was a Christian, and it all made sense.”

In the years following, Rumball’s life has taken on a new sense of purpose. “Without that hope, without that knowledge that God loves me and has a plan for my life,” she says, “I would have dropped out of a meaningful living a long time ago.”

As she races towards the 2008 Olympics, Jane Rumball does so without fear, knowing that the results of her competing are only a small portion of what is really important in her life.

Jane Rumball article courtesy Athletes in Action

Osafa Powell Country: Jamaica | Event: 100 Metres

For anyone who follows track, Asafa Powell is a household name. The Jamaican sprinter burst onto the scene only a few years ago and has been making his mark ever since.

After being on the international track circuit for only three years, the 25-year-old has already broken the former 100-metre world record and equalled it twice. He has also recorded five of the six fastest 100-metre times in history.

In his brief but already prolific career, Powell has broken records and set new precedents in his sport. But the athlete has come up short at major championships like the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where he placed fifth, and the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, where he finished second to Tyson Gay (USA).

Which is one reason why Powell is looking forward to Beijing.
“It’s really, really very important for me right now to win the Olympics,” the six-foot-three, 195-pound athlete told CBC Sports. But while the self-described humble, family-oriented Jamaican has a drive to win, he also knows that his talent is a gift from God. Born to a mother and father who are both pastors, alongside five other brothers, Powell grew closer to his family and to God when two of his brothers died in 2002 and 2003.

Knowing Jesus has been a strength in Powell’s athletic career. “It has helped me a lot, to tell you the truth. It helps me to stay focused, to stay humble, especially with the (media) hype out there. I have a verse I say each time I am going to run. ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.’ He just gives me the strength and to tell you the truth it touches me a lot. Every time I say it, it motivates me,” he told Jamaica Gleaner.

Powell’s most recent pre-Olympic victory was at the London Grand Prix on July 25, where he won the 100 metre, clocking a time of 9.94.

“Everyone is saying Christianity is boring. I try to reflect Christianity as exciting so that they don’t say it is boring.”
Powell is guaranteed to provide an exciting competition in Beijing as he races for gold in the 100-metre, most likely lining up next to Usain Bolt, a fellow Jamaican who recently broke Powell’s 100-metre world record of 9.74 by finishing with a 9.72 at the Reebok Grand Prix, and American world champion Tyson Gay.

Laura Wilkinson Country: USA | Event: Diving

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics she persevered through three broken bones in her right foot to win gold for the U.S. in women’s 10-metre platform diving — the first American to win the Chinese-dominated event since 1964.

But when the 2004 Athens Olympics came and went, Laura Wilkinson had failed to win any medals. And it was at that time she says she considered retiring from diving. “But not getting that medal just kind of really reignited that passion, and that want,” she recently told VOA News.

So the 30-year-old diver is setting her sights high as she gears up for her third Olympics in Beijing. Despite being almost twice the age of some of her teammates, Wilkinson, the only platform diver to earn a career triple crown with gold-medal performances at the Olympics, World Cup and World Championships, is hoping to be able to retire with gold.

“I definitely want to win a gold medal, but beyond that, I just want to do all that I can do … I want to just kind of see what my true potential in this sport is,” she said.

Gold isn't everything, however. Wilkinson, who recites Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” from the Bible before every dive, has learned to balance her success and intense training with her family and her faith. In fact, diving comes last on the list, behind God, her husband, her family, and friends.

“My faith has been the most important thing to me, because I feel like if God brings you to it, He will get you through it,” she told VOA News. Wilkinson’s success will be put to the test in Beijing as she will be competing against younger divers with some of the most difficult dives in the world. But despite the pressure, “I feel like I can face any situation,” Wilkinson said in a recent interview.

“Sometimes I come out victorious, sometimes I am defeated. But I know that God has plans for my life and I trust Him,” she says. “My value and His plans for me do not lie in my score at the end of the meet. He uses both wonderful and difficult moments to mould me into the person He wants me to be.”

Bryan Clay Country: USA | Event: Decathlon

Bryan Clay boasts an impressive athletic career for someone of such small stature. At five-foot-eleven and 185 pounds, Clay is by far the smallest competitor in the ranks of the decathlon, a sport where the average size of athletes is around six-foot-three.

The Texan-born Hawaiian decathlete is heading to Beijing this summer hoping to turn his 2004 Athens silver medal into a gold. With exceptional throwing ability (he won the javelin by 20 feet and the discus by 12 feet at the 2005 World Championships), the 28-year-old has set the bar for his fellow decathlon competitors. He was the 2005 World Outdoor champion, where he won with a world-leading total of 8,732 points and a 211-point margin over reigning Olympic champion Roman Sebrle (Czechoslovakia), as well as the 2008 World Indoor champion.

In many ways, decathlon is an embodiment of the Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” Greek for “faster, higher, stronger.” Track and field events were the first Olympic events ever contested, and have been held at every Olympic competition since 1896. Today, decathlon athletes compete in 10 different track and field events: 100-metre sprint, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-metre race, hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500-metre race.

As Clay heads to Beijing, he knows that although decathlon isn't a team sport, he is far from alone. “I've never felt like I was alone when I'm out there competing,” Clay told Baptist Press. “A lot of people get all this pressure built on them and they get so stressed out because they feel like it's all on their shoulders. I've never felt that. I've always been able to give that to God and allow Him to carry that burden for me.”

Deemed “Hawaii's Hero” by the media following the 2004 Olympics, Clay has used his fame to establish the Bryan Clay Foundation, which provides Hawaiian students in need the support and opportunity to pursue college. Whatever the outcome in Beijing, Clay is fixed on the ultimate goal. “I'm not out there for the money or the fame or the glory. I'm out there to do God's will and allow Him to work through me.”

Photos courtesy Peter Bick/AfterImage Photo; photorun.net; Getty Images and Rowing Canada