28 Christian Athletes to Cheer On at the Paris 2024 Olympics

Many Olympics lovers learn that their favorite athletes love Jesus through social media posts or postgame interviews following their success on the field, court, or track or in the pool. But the overwhelming majority of Christians competing in the Games won’t end up on the podium.

For many, simply arriving at the Games will be a testament to overcoming injuries, mental health challenges, or grief due to the loss of loved ones. Below are the stories of Christian athletes from 13 sports and 20 nations, all eager to make their countries—and their Lord—proud.

With reporting by Annie Meldrum, Isabel Ong, Angela Lu Fulton, Franco Iacomini, Mariana Albuquerque, and Morgan Lee.

Badminton

Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Indonesia)

Known as badminton’s “Giant Killer” for defeating the sport’s greatest stars, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting took home the bronze medal for men’s badminton singles in Tokyo. This year, he’s headed back to the Olympics with fellow Indonesian and Christian badminton player Jonathan Christie.

Ginting was born in Cimahi in West Java and is of Karo ethnicity, a people group from North Sumatra where Christians make up 70 percent of the population. His father introduced him to badminton when he was five, and he started competing at age nine. Since then, he has medaled or won in numerous competitions.

On his Instagram account, Ginting isn’t shy about his faith. In a post from March, he noted finishing second to Christie at the All England Open, writing, “Thank you Jesus for your goodness. It was all beyond my expectation.” In response, Christie commented, “We made history together that we never imagined, God is good all the time.”

Basketball

Kayla Alexander, Canada

Team Canada basketball player Kayla Alexander, 33, frequently writes on Instagram and her blog about how God has directed her career. “Every dream I had as a child, God has surpassed in ways I never thought possible,” she wrote in 2018.

The star center has played in the WNBA and is currently with Spanish pro team Valencia Basket—a place she never thought she would be as a 12-year-old who was “terrible” at her first basketball tryout. In 2020, she suffered knee injuries that put her out of commission and left her “heartbroken.” But her faith in God kept her motivated: “Unfortunately, things happen that don’t make sense, we don’t understand the reasoning or why behind it, but I believe that [God] works it all out for his good and his glory.”

When Japan beat Canada in the Olympic qualifying tournament, Alexander thought their Olympic hopes were dashed. But the team recovered to finish third and secure a qualifying spot. “God said we’re not done yet! When they say He works in mysterious ways, let this be the example!” she declared.

Carlik Jones, South Sudan

Since becoming an independent nation 12 years ago, South Sudan has struggled with conflict and humanitarian disasters. Yet this summer, the country is sending its first-ever basketball team to the Olympics, led by Carlik Jones, 26, whose South Sudanese heritage is from his mother's side.

Jones, who has played for the Chicago Bulls and is currently with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, was born with a brain condition that took him out of competitive sports for several years, as getting a concussion could have seriously injured him. Eventually, the doctors cleared him in second grade and his basketball career began from there.

Jones frequently shouts out God on his social media. “I’m putting my trust and faith in GOD, and letting him lead the way,” he tweeted in October 2022. The next month, he wrote, “I AM EXTREMELY BLESSED, THANK GOD,” and the following month, “GOD YOU ARE AMAZING.”

Despite his team’s lack of international experience, Jones believes in them. “South Sudan is slept on, its people are slept on, and we as a unit are slept on,” he said last year. “We just trying to put South Sudan on the map.”

Boxing

Saidel Horta, Cuba

Saidel Horta secured a silver medal at the 2023 World Boxing Championships and earned his Olympic qualification in the featherweight division the same year during the Pan American Games. But back in 2021, Horta had contemplated retirement. After missing out on a podium finish in the youth category, he wondered if he was good enough to compete at the elite level. Ultimately, his love for boxing motivated him to keep training, resulting in a 2023 strong performance that culminated in an Olympic spot.

At just 21 years old, Horta is now recognized as one of the proponents of Cuba’s esteemed boxing tradition. In one photo on social media, the athlete stands inside the ring with his hand raised toward the sky. His caption paraphrases Psalm 121: “My help comes from above.” In another post, he wrote, “God, all honor and glory to you.”

Gymnastics

Aleah Finnegan, Philippines

Aleah Finnegan, 21, is the Philippines’s first female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since 1964. (Several months later, Emma Malabuyo, another Filipino-American gymnast, also qualified.)

“Thank you for the opportunity to represent this beautiful country. … God be Glorified!” she wrote in an Instagram caption below a photo of herself holding the Philippine flag.

Finnegan is Filipino through her mother and represented the US from 2019 to 2021. In 2021, she retired from elite gymnastics to compete at the college level at Louisiana State University. A year later, she switched nationalities to the Philippines.

In the 2024 NCAA National Championship, Finnegan’s high scores helped LSU’s gymnastics team win the championship title for the first time in program history.

“GOD DID!! WE ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!” she wrote, celebrating their win. “Thank you, Jesus, for allowing us to compete for something far greater than ourselves.”

Brody Malone, USA

After Brody Malone underwent a third surgery on his right leg only a year ago, his odds for the 2024 Olympics did not look good. He dislocated his knee after landing poorly, leaving him with a fractured tibia and multiple torn ligaments.

Now, just over a year later, he has won the US gymnastics all-around competition and is bound for his second Olympics. After finishing fourth in the high bar competition in Tokyo, he has his sights set on medaling in Paris.

Malone had a brutal recovery process—he essentially had to “relearn how to walk.” His personal life has not been without trial either. His mother passed away from cancer in 2012, and in 2019, his stepmother died from a brain aneurysm.

Yet he still praises God.

“I just have to give all the glory to God,” he said earlier this year. “It’s all him. … So I just want to thank him for this.”

Judo

Geronay Whitebooi, South Africa

Judoka Geronay Whitebooi has seen too much of life to mince words. When she recently finished second at the Marrakech Africa Open 2024, she posted a picture of herself post-tournament with a serious expression on her face.

“My heart desired the gold medal, but it was not the plan God had for me today. GOD is my strength and power,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “GOD is with me and within me.”

Whitebooi, who also qualified for the Olympics in 2021, has won multiple titles at both African and European tournaments. Yet to get to this point in her judo career, she said she had to give up her social life and spend time away from her family, especially as she faced the tragic losses of two family members: her dad when she was 13, and her sister two years ago.

“The medal proudly represents another barrier-breaking effort I have made, but it is a medal I look at with sadness because I made [my sister] proud, but I wasn’t there enough for my family and myself during that time,” she said about her win at the 2022 Senior European Cup.

“Our pain has a purpose,” she recently wrote. “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.”

Rugby

Siya Kolisi, South Africa

Siya Kolisi, captain of the back-to-back World Cup–winning South African rugby team, now leads his team to the Olympics. When he was 15, his mother died, and his childhood was characterized by poverty, leaving him wondering if he would be able to afford school. But in high school, he was scouted and given a rugby scholarship.

For a number of years, sports became his first priority, and he let temptation and sin impact some of his decisions. Though his grandmother had raised him as a Christian, he did not make the faith his own until later in life. However, when his struggle with alcohol abuse was brought to light, he came to a realization: “I knew I either had to change my life or lose everything. I decided to lose my life and find it in Christ.”

Kolisi has credited his faith when dealing with setbacks, including a partially torn ACL, explaining that his “foundation was in God” and that he found peace in reading his Bible and praying. He and his wife also lead a foundation that fights inequality in South Africa.

Jerry Tuwai, Fiji

Fijian rugby player Jerry Tuwai, 35, led his teams to clinch the gold at Rio 2016—the first Olympic win for the country—and at Tokyo. Both times, Tuwai and his teammates hugged each other in a circle and sang the traditional hymn “We Shall Overcome,” or, as it’s known in Fiji, “E Da Sa Qaqa.” Its English lyrics read: “We have overcome / By the blood of the Lamb / And the word of the Lord.”

“We always start … and we always end with our prayers and songs. That song says that our God is a loving God,” said Tuwai.

Tuwai grew up in one of the poorest districts outside the Fijian capital, Suva, and lived in a one-room house made of corrugated iron walls. He used plastic bottles or bundles of clothes as a rugby ball. When asked what made him successful in the sport, Tuwai credited discipline and dependence on God.

In January, Tuwai was axed from the Fiji Sevens squad for not being fit enough. Six months later, he was announced as captain of the Paris lineup—just when Tuwai had thought that his rugby career was over. “You have different plans, but God has another plan for us … maybe this one and maybe the next big thing,” he said. “I don’t know. Only God knows.”

Skateboarding

Rayssa Leal, Brazil

At age 7, Rayssa Leal had her first moment of fame when a video showing the elementary-age student dressed as a fairy executing a perfect heelflip was shared by Tony Hawk, one of the biggest names in skateboarding.

By age 11, Leal had begun competing internationally, and at 13, she became Brazil’s youngest Olympic medalist, winning silver in the street skateboarding category in Japan in 2021. “Thank you, God, for providing me the opportunity to do what I love!” she wrote the night before the competition.

Last December, Rayssa achieved the highest score of her career in the final of the SLS Super Crown in São Paulo. “All honor and glory to God,” she wrote. Now, at 16, the girl who attends a Baptist church in Imperatriz, a city in the northeastern state of Maranhão, is aiming for gold.

Soccer

Rasheedat Ajibade, Nigeria

In the final match of the Olympic qualifying tournament, Rasheedat Ajibade scored the winning—and only—goal that sent the Nigeria women’s soccer team to Paris, its first Games since 2008.

Ajibade celebrated her victory in a shirt that read, “Jesus Revealed, Jesus Glorified, Haleluyah,” and in a caption of a postgame photo, she wrote, “TO YOU ALONE LORD BE ALL THE GLORY. THE MANDATE REMAINS CRYSTAL CLEAR.”

Despite these bold professions, Ajibade says she sees herself as a reserved person and that she has often relied on dying her hair blue to express her personality. For Ajibade, her hair is a nod to her struggles with depression as a teenager and a symbol of her encouragement that everyone can survive their mental health struggles.

Ajibade began her professional soccer career at the young age of 13. In 2022, she finished as the top scorer at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. She also plays for Atletico Madrid, which won the Women’s Cup in 2023.

Despite her success, Ajibade remains attuned to the less fortunate in her country. Last year, she visited a Lagos slum, later writing, “Our mission was twofold: to extend acts of kindness and to share the gospel’s light (Mark 16:15).”

Taishi Brandon Nozawa, Japan

In a country where only one percent of the population is Christian, Japan’s 21-year-old goalkeeper, Taishi Brandon Nozawa, is committed to using his platform to share his faith. His Instagram account includes images of him on the soccer field interspersed with Bible verses, thoughts about his devotions, and a worship song.

Under an image of the Charles Spurgeon quote “Be walking Bibles,” Nozawa wrote, “For Christians, the Bible is a lamp and light that illuminates the path we walk. However, for those who do not read the Bible, it is not light. So what do we do? We must become a Bible that is read by our neighbors and become a light for them!”

Nozawa, originally from Okinawa Province, has played for Japan’s national team since he was 14. In 2023, he played for FC Tokyo.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude for each and every blessing that the Lord has prepared and guided for us this season,” he wrote in an Instagram post at the end of last year. “Even when times are tough, when things don’t go well, and we do things that displease the Lord, his unchanging love is truly wonderful. That is why I return and worship the Lord.”

Swimming

Adam Peaty, Great Britain

Adam Peaty won the men’s 100-meter breaststroke at both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics and has also earned eight world championship golds. And yet the British swimmer has dealt with significant personal struggles, including depression and alcoholism.

He became a Christian in 2022 after a foot injury forced him out of the pool. He began attending church regularly after meeting with chaplain Ashley Null, and this new routine “felt like the missing part of the puzzle,” he said. He now sports a large cross tattoo across his abdomen, accompanied by the words Into the Light.

Caeleb Dressel, USA

Caeleb Dressel says the eagle tattoo on his shoulder nods to Isaiah 40: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (v. 30).

Hailed as a successor to Michael Phelps, Dressel is well on his way to living up to the name. At Tokyo, he took home five gold medals.

However, his journey has not always been smooth. Leading up to the last Olympics, Dressel found himself struggling with depression and panic attacks. The pressure to live up to one of the most well-known names in sports weighed heavily on him.

But his faith helped him to rise out of that place. “I really learned to see the light at the end of the tunnel and trust what God is doing, whether it be a rough point in your life or a top pinnacle in your life,” he said.

Georgia-Leigh Vele, Papua New Guinea

When she received the bronze medal in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke at the 2023 Pacific Games, Georgia-Leigh Vele, 25, said, “I was hoping for this. You never know what could happen, but I tried my best and God did the rest.”

For Vele, being an athlete has led her to feel grateful and content. “Completely surrendering myself to the Lord with thanks and praise,” she wrote last year. “It’s an amazing thing when you find that place, where you know you can and you will because of Him.”

The first-time Olympian will race in the 50-meter freestyle in Paris, carrying on her family’s legacy of competitive swimming.

Taekwondo

Lolohea Naitasi, Fiji

Taekwondo was not Lolohea Naitasi’s first love. The 17-year-old started out playing netball, but she picked up the Korean martial art at a physical education class in school three years ago and continued pursuing it after earning a scholarship.

She won a silver medal at her first Pacific Games last year, and her silver medal at this year’s qualifying tournament earned her a place in Paris.

“Preparation for [the] Olympic[s] is not that easy, but when you put God first, everything—everything is possible,” she said.

Track and Field

Julien Alfred, Saint Lucia

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18): Julien Alfred, an up-and-coming track star from Saint Lucia, who was twice named her country’s athlete of the year, features this verse in her Instagram profile.

Alfred earned a silver medal in the women’s 100-meter dash at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. In 2024, she finished first in the 60-meter final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

As she prepares to run in the 100 (and maybe the 200), she believes that her faith in God and her hard work can put her among the best. “I am a strong woman of God and a hard worker, and that’s made me who I am,” she said. “That’s why I’m here today.”

Rasheed Broadbell, Jamaica

Jamaican athlete Rasheed Broadbell, 23, excels in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, winning a gold medal in the event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Broadbell’s standout performance set expectations for the 2023 World Athletics Championships. But in the prelims, he struck multiple hurdles and crashed.

Despite these challenges, Broadbell expressed gratitude to God. “It has been a roller-coaster journey thus far; grateful for every part of it. Most of all, I just give God the thanks for bringing me through every bit of it.”

Reflecting on his sprint hurdler qualification for Paris, he shared on Instagram, “Blessed to make my third national team but super grateful to have made my first Olympic Games, if I had to tell the story of how I did it without the video clips of the race it would sound insane, but God continues to work his miracles in my life and I’m truly honored to show what the Lord has done for me.”

Olivia Lundman, Canada

Olivia Lundman, 21, will be participating in the Olympics’ first-ever marathon race walk mixed relay alongside her teammate and coach, Olympic medalist Evan Dunfee. At April’s qualifying event, Lundman struggled through the final 10 kilometers and vomited twice. But she willed herself to go on and finished in the top 22 spots to qualify for the Games. “I feel incredibly blessed to have this opportunity and I am excited for the journey to come,” Lundman wrote on Instagram.

Lundman also founded Beneath the Surface to share stories of young people living with mental health challenges. “I have learned to open up to others, embrace who I am, and lean into my faith,” she wrote. “It’s something I still have to work on every single day, but I know that I was put on this planet for a reason.”

During a sermon at her church last November, Lundman testified that prayer had helped her amid her experiences of depression and anxiety. “When I was struggling, I used to think, God, why have you abandoned me? Where are you? I didn’t realize that it was during those times that I was struggling that he was the only one that was keeping me going and carrying me through each day.”

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, USA

Syndey McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own world record by three-hundredths of a second at the US Olympic Trials in June, running 400m hurdles in 50.65 seconds. Her performance separated her from the second-place finisher by nearly two seconds.

McLaughlin-Levrone has set the 400 hurdles world record five times since 2021. In Tokyo, she brought home two gold medals, one in the 400-meter hurdles and one in the 4x400 relay. In 2022, World Athletics named her athlete of the year alongside Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis.

As she redefines the limits of her sport, McLaughlin-Levrone consistently circles back to her faith. “Praise God,” she said after setting her June record. “I was not expecting that. He can do anything. Anything is possible in Christ.”

McLaughlin is extremely outspoken about her faith, thanking God and giving him the glory in almost every interview she has done in her decorated athletic career. Her Instagram account is filled with verses and quotes from Christian books. Among her Instagram highlights are clips of her favorite passages of Scripture and pictures of her Bible filled with underlining and notes to herself.

Tarsis Orogot, Uganda

Uganda’s distance runners have put the country on the map as a running powerhouse. This year, Tarsis Orogot may make his country famous for sprinting. A student at the University of Alabama, the national record holder for 100 and 200 meters describes himself as “just a boy with a dream.” But his strong finishes at the NCAA Track and Field Championships may be making that dream a reality.

Outside of running, Orogot has built a reputation for his love of socks and says he usually attends a meet with 15 pairs, including ones with Sonic the Hedgehog , SpongeBob SquarePants , and Avengers designs. “When I run my fastest I usually have the wings on,” he told Olympics.com.

His playful streak aside, as Orogot’s training led him to move from Uganda to Kenya to the US, he wrote, “All glory and praise to thee most high God.”

Marileidy Paulino, Dominican Republic

Unlike many professional athletes who start their careers as children, Marileidy Paulino, a track and field athlete from the Dominican Republic, began her journey at age 19 as a way to support her family.

A former barefoot runner, Paulino has since become an Olympic silver medalist in the 400-meter individual event and the 4x400 relay (Tokyo 2020). Additionally, she has secured three medals at the World Athletics Championships.

In 2021, Paulino drew attention for a message on her sneakers: “God is my hope. Amen.” Later, an image of the athlete holding the flag of the Dominican Republic and the Bible was one of the most striking moments of the Tokyo Games.

“I carry the Bible with me because I have faith in God that He made it possible for me to achieve this medal,” she explained. “I dedicate it to the Dominican people, and I urge them to believe in God because He alone is our hope.”

Yemisi Magdalena Ogunleye, Germany

Yemisi Ogunleye is a shot-putter from Germany whose Instagram account boldly declares, “NOT I, BUT JESUS IN ME.” Ogunleye earned a silver medal at the World Indoor Championships earlier this year, throwing her own personal record of 20.19 meters (66.24 feet), and has also taken silver in two other European competitions, as well as bronze at the European Championships.

Ogunleye’s faith has carried her through both injuries and success. “I am loved just as I am,” she said. “With a medal or without a medal I am valuable.”

Ogunleye is the daughter of a Namibian father and German mother and has previously spoken about experiencing racist behavior. Nevertheless, she has remained faithful to God and his calling on her life. “Knowing that God has prepared a way, so all the glory be to Jesus,” she said.

Volleyball

Micah Christenson, USA

Known as the “Man of Steel” on the court, Micah Christenson is ready for his third Olympic Games. As an athlete competing against the best in the world, the setter has learned how to manage his own stress when he plays.

“I’m a Christian,” he said. “I believe in God and so I know I get a lot of freedom from my faith in God. When I’m out there, I feel free to make different decisions and take a little bit of risk because I know where my identity lies and that love is always gonna be there.”

The father of three children, Christenson has said the experience of parenting helped him build closer relationships with his teammates who are also fathers. He adds that having kids has given him a fresh perspective on the sport and that he is excited to have them watching as he competes this year.

Nyeme Nunes, Brazil

Nyeme Nunes is affectionately called Doutora (doctor) by Brazilian fans. This nickname isn't a nod to academic achievements but a testament to her on-court prowess—she manages everything for the team, much as a doctor cares for a patient.

Nunes started playing volleyball at age 9 under the influence of her mother, who took her to play the sport on the streets of her hometown, Barra do Corda, in the northeastern state of Maranhão. By age 13, she had joined an adult team. Since 2015, she has played for Team Brazil and earned several silver medals with them. In 2017, Nunes was named the best libero at the under-20 World Championship.

Nunes has celebrated her accomplishments by posting Bible verses on her social media. After winning the South American Club Championship this year with her club team, she shared Psalm 127:11: “The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

Weightlifting

David Liti, New Zealand

After a discouraging season in 2017, David Liti clinched the gold medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games when he lifted a record-setting 403 kilograms as a combined total. Shocked by the win, he cried in the shower for an hour, asking God what he was trying to say.

The Tongan-Kiwi athlete realized that he was never alone. “God gave me all those challenges so I can be better, so I can come and be ready for when I do win,” he said.

Liti went on to compete in Tokyo, placing fifth in weightlifting in the 109 kilograms category. For the upcoming games, the 27-year-old joked that he hopes to be known as a “professional croissant eater” in his time there. He also said, “I’m blessed to do what I love to my full potential and I’m excited to get over there and represent everyone who’s been a part of this journey.”

Don Opeloge, Samoa

After he set a new record at last year’s Pacific Games and won gold in the men’s 102 kilograms category, the first thing Don Opeloge did was to thank God for giving him strength. The 25-year-old attributed his success to God: “I just wanted to praise God for giving me the strength and the confidence that guides me to do my best to get these gold medals for Samoa.”

Olepoge had planned to compete at Tokyo, but he couldn’t attend because the Samoan government kept its athletes home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When he qualified for Paris this April, Opeloge said the same thing: “All glory to God for the strength and always be with me through my journey.”

Don is not the only Olepoge to make it to the Olympics. His sister Mary represented the country at Rio, while another sister, Ele, received Samoa’s only Olympic medal ever (a silver) at the 2008 Beijing Games after two athletes were disqualified for doping.

“Whatever talent God has given you, it is about service to God, your family and to Samoa,” Opeloge said.

Yenni Álvarez, Colombia

At age 13, Yenny Álvarez qualified for her first national competition. The only problem: she had no ID or birth certificate. The teenager was living with an aunt after her mother died and her father abandoned her. Only with her coach’s help could she navigate the intricacies of government bureaucracy, get the paperwork she needed to travel, and compete.

Now, Álvarez will compete in the 59-kilogram weightlifting category in Paris. After climbing the ranks of weightlifting, in 2015 Álvarez tested positive for boldenone and was banned from competitions for five years. Nevertheless, she continued to train. Last year, she broke the Pan American record in her weight category and celebrated her win on Instagram: “Thank God, who gives us victory through our LORD JESUS CHRIST!” Álvarez secured her spot at the Olympics in April when she placed third at the World Cup.

Earlier this year, the Colombian Olympic Committee named her its athlete of the year. Álvarez commemorated the honor by posting John 3:27 on her social media: “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.”