2008 Summer Olympics Beijing

BEIJING (BP)--When New Zealand track star Nicholas Willis was 4, his mother died of cancer, sending him into a tailspin of searching for significance. Now he has won a bronze medal ...

BEIJING (BP)--Bryan Clay, a decathlete whose competition starts Aug. 20 in Beijing, began his walk with Christ in college when he realized his life was heading in the wrong direction.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—Donny Robinson is looking forward to showing the world what BMX cycling is all about.       The California native makes his Olympic debut Tuesday night in Beijing, as BMX cycling is an Olympic event for the first time.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Laura Wilkinson may have to fight back tears when she steps onto the diving platform for the final time during the Beijing Olympics.       "It's kind of bittersweet," Wilkinson said. "It's my third Olympics, but it's also going to be my last Olympics. It's kind of a farewell at the same time. I get really excited but really emotional about it a lot."       Wilkinson, who won a gold medal in Sydney in 2000 and finished fifth in Athens in 2004, will begin her competition in the women's 10-meter platform event on Wednesday.       It won't be the first time that Wilkinson has gotten emotional on the platform. Ten years ago, during the 1998 Goodwill Games, she had an experience during her competition that changed her life. But first, some stage-setting is necessary.       Wilkinson became a Christian when she was 8 and "really got into church and God's Word and was really excited about it," she said.       That lasted until her freshman year of high school. That's when she began noticing some people from her church youth group acting one way at church and a different way outside of church. Such hypocrisy made her uncomfortable, and Wilkinson slowly stopped going to church altogether. She became just like those people, she admits.       In her sophomore year in college, she hit the bottom. Her grades started falling.

BEIJING (BP)--Hyleas Fountain, before winning the bronze medal in the women's heptathlon in Beijing, was thinking it might be her time to glorify God in the Olympics.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Tim Ellsworth, who was in Beijing Aug. 6-16, is continuing his coverage of the 2008 Olympics for Baptist Press. Ellsworth, director of news and media relations at Union University, has been assisted with photography by David McIntyre, a freelancer based in Asia. Baptist Press will publish features about Christian athletes in the Olympics […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each day during Baptist Press’ coverage of the Beijing Olympics, we are publishing a letter from a Southern Baptist missionary who served in China during the years before the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. Some of the letters reveal these missionaries’ great love for the people of China; others provide […]

PINGTU, China--Our visit was timed so that we might be present on the occasion of the departure of one of our young Christians, recently baptized, for the home of her heathen mother-in-law.

BEIJING (BP)--Jeremy Knowles, a member of the Bahamas swim team, will have plenty to tell his fourth-grade students at Hickory Grove Baptist Christian School in Charlotte, N.C., when he returns to the United States as their teacher.

BEIJING (BP)--Rowing wasn't even on Anna Cummins' radar as she prepared to enter college at the University of Washington. In high school she competed in basketball and track, and she expected to run in college.       But Cummins soon discovered that God's plans for her didn't include track.       "I grew up as a pretty good miler, and running was integrally part of my character," said Cummins, a member of the U.S. Olympic rowing team. "When I was not recruited to the University of Washington track team, but rather the rowing team, it took a lot of prayer to let go of the old and try the new. Little did I know that God made me perfectly to row."       Cummins, competing in her second Olympics, is part of both the women's eight and the women's pair teams. In the women's eight, Cummins and her American teammates will race in the finals on Aug. 17. In the earlier women's pair, she and her partner Portia McGee didn't qualify for the finals.       She didn't win a medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. This time, her goal is the gold. Cummins credits her coach, Tom Terhaar, with helping to improve on her weaknesses, mainly her technical skills.       "The technical changes I acquired helped me to get more out of each row," Cummins said. "Also, my strength has increased as a result of these more efficient rowing practices. I have no regrets and feel ready for my best in Beijing."       Cummins' journey to Beijing began during her college years. Her high school track coach had connections with the rowing coach at the University of Washington and helped her plan a visit with the team. Cummins admits to knowing nothing about the sport.       "One of the coaches I met said I could take rowing as far as I wanted before I had ever even taken a stroke, and she was so sincere," Cummins said. "She really believed, so I thought, why not give it a try for a year? Two Olympic Games, four world titles and four NCAA championship trophies later, I'm still at it."