We support elite Christian athletes.
It is just one of the ways we look to reach the world of sport for Christ. Former Winter Olympian Adam Pengilly is one of hundreds who our staff have supported over the years as we look to help top-level sportspeople like him represent Jesus. With the Winter Olympics almost upon us, Adam shared how he found his identity in Christ in the face of great disappointment.
Testing time
Skeleton, which involves hurtling down a mountain at 90mph lying prone on a sled, brought Adam great success, with his high point being a world silver medal for Team GB in 2009. But his career as an elite athlete also proved a very testing time. The key moment came on his Winter Olympic debut at Turin 2006. Here, he was contending for a bronze medal before a bad final run relegated him to eighth. Adam found his disappointment took him three months to get over.
‘My head was in the wrong place, really. My performance was a bit too important and that’s why I got so disappointed. I had a great chance of winning bronze and I wasn’t able to take it. Unfortunately, too much of my identity was caught up in my success.
To be the best...
‘I went into a race to be the best I could, full stop. That was what I wanted to do. But when it is the be-all and end-all and becomes a god in your life, that’s when my identity became “I’m an athlete first and foremost, rather than a Christian”.’
Being a top-level sportsperson like Adam often means regular and significant times away from local church community and Bible teaching. Add to this the unique pressures to succeed and following Jesus as an elite athlete can be particularly challenging. With the help of Christian friends from his church and Christians in Sport staff, Adam came to see what it looked like to worship God as he pushed himself to the limit down the skeleton run.
... for the Lord
‘My role was to be an athlete. It wasn’t just a job, it was something I loved. It was a real gift from God to be able to do something and love it and get an income from it. I tried to do the best I could, but the best I could was not for me and my success and identity, it was to try and do it for the Lord.’
Adam finished 18th in his second Winter Olympics at Vancouver 2010.
Unconditional love
‘I was disappointed for sure, but I was in a place where I knew the Lord had a different plan. His love for me was not dependent on how I perform.’
Adam’s perspective had also been shaped by his silver medal experience the previous year. ‘I felt amazing for about two or three hours after that, but then life continued as normal. Even if I had won, I would have wanted to win again. If I had won the Olympics, I wouldn’t have been satisfied. All those achievements and success don’t fill the hole inside.’
As an Olympian, Adam’s story can seem far removed from our everyday lives, but it poses the question of where we seek our identity. Will it be in our secure status as Christians or our ‘performances’ in life?
Although he retired in 2012, Adam is still very much involved in the world of elite sport. You will be able to hear more of his story, including how he has helped organise the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, on the new Christians in Sport podcast at christiansinsport.org.uk/adam from February.
