In Spite of Rules, Olympic Athletes Say They Won't Lose Faith

Bryan Clay, the U.S. champion in the decathlon and the silver medalist at the 2004 Games in Athens, said it is almost habitual for him to pray before each of the 10 events. He'll squat down in the block or behind the starting line, say a prayer and then compete.

"It feels like it's something I have to do," Clay said, "and if I don't, I feel something's missing and not because I think God won't bless me, but it's part of getting ready."

U.S. heptathlete Hyleas Fountain doesn't throw her arms skyward and say a quick prayer until after each of her seven events. She said it does not signify triumph -- the heptathlon winner isn't determined until the last event is completed -- but rather gratitude.

"That's my celebration," said Fountain, who won the event at the U.S. trials with a personal-best score. "That's my way of thanking God for giving me this opportunity."

Forty years ago at the Summer Games in Mexico City, Madeline Manning Mims became the first -- and still the only -- U.S. woman to win Olympic gold in the 800. In an interview afterward on ABC, she said she ran for "the glory of God, the glory of Jesus."

Manning Mims, who also competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and qualified for the 1980 team that missed the 1980 Games in Moscow because of the U.S. boycott, later was ordained as a Protestant minister.

At the past six Summer Games, she has served as part of an international community of voluntary chaplains. She said her group is meant to serve athletes from countries that do not have an official religion -- like the United States -- and do not send chaplains with their respective delegations. She said she never has had difficulty gaining access to the Olympic Village.

Earlier this year, however, the Beijing Olympic Committee announced that foreign chaplains will not be allowed in the Olympic Village; all chaplains at the Games will be state employees. Wang said it should be a nonissue for athletes. "The Chinese chaplains are competent enough for [the athletes] to do their job well during the Games," he said.

Manning Mims, 60, said she will be in Beijing on her own, but acknowledged she has to find creative ways to reach the athletes who request her support.

"We know our people," she said. "I don't think the Chinese chaplains have been trained enough to know what this is all about."

In keeping with past Olympic hosts, Beijing Olympic officials have established a multidenominational church in the athletes' village. The Multi-Faith Center has prayer/meditation rooms and has Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish services.

Some countries have attempted to avoid conflict with the Chinese government by asking athletes to refrain from making any religious or political statements during the Games. In January, the Belgian Olympic Committee issued a statement that read, in part, "Not a single participant in the games will be allowed to give a political opinion at the Olympic venues."

Nick Willis, who came to the United States in 2002 to run at the University of Michigan, will run the 800 and 1,500 for his native New Zealand. Willis said he embraced Christianity after moving to the United States and is open about displaying it on the track. "It's very clear that God asks us to share this," he said. "My faith would be false if I didn't share it at every situation."

But earlier this year, after he was named to the Olympic team, Willis said he was asked by the New Zealand Olympic Committee to sign a pledge, which he said ordered him "to refrain from any political, religious or other forms of discussion at events or in the Olympic Village or risk harm from the New Zealand Olympic Committee."

"I was a little bit flustered about how I should approach" the pledge, Willis said, "but it's something you should come to expect," given the controversy surrounding China's social policies.

After giving it much thought, Willis said he decided to sign the pledge. And though he said he plans to show his faith on the track, he will be careful about what he says in interviews with reporters, especially those from China.

"Each person has a different calling," Willis said, "and God has called me to train and participate in the Olympic Games. Someone else might be called to protest and boycott this. I feel winning a gold medal would give me a greater stage afterward, like on TV or in schools," to give his testimony.

"I see it as a very small thing. I may not be able to hold up a sign or tear off my shirt with a tattoo of John 3:16, but it doesn't mean I can't have a smiling face and still give glory to God."