2012: London Olympics

LONDON (BP) -- Bill and Lucy Pat Curl have been married for more than 50 years and had retired from international missions, but that didn't stop them from pursuing their own unique calling to the Summer Games.

LONDON (BP) -- Columnist Tim Ellsworth says the Olympics were replete with stories of Christian athletes who were inspiring for their stance on faith.

LONDON -- "We lit the flame and lit up the world."       Doug Shaw had to smile a little when London 2012 chairman Lord Coe closed the Olympics with those words Aug. 12.

LONDON (BP) -- A 12-year-old David Boudia stood on the 10-meter diving platform for the first time, terrified to plunge into the water below. [QUOTE@left@180="My faith is the most important thing in my life, and this is what's brought me through this 2012 Games."]That's the equivalent of a three-story building. The fear was understandable. "It took me the longest time. It took bribes from my mother," Boudia said. "It took so long for me to get over that fear, but it had to be done if I wanted to accomplish dreams." Boudia doesn't have to dream anymore. The 23-year-old U.S. diver unexpectedly won Olympic gold in the men's 10-meter platform event Saturday (Aug. 11). His 568.65 points edged China's Qui Bo (566.85 points) and Great Britain's Thomas Daley (556.95 points) to give the United States its first gold medal in men's diving since Greg Louganis in 1988. Baptist Press previously featured a story on Boudia and his Christian walk. (Read it at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38360.) "Just looking back on this journey, it's amazing to think where I was in 2008 to where I am now," Boudia told NBC's Al Michaels in a Sunday (Aug. 12) interview. "My faith is the most important thing in my life, and this is what's brought me through this 2012 Games." The medal was Boudia's second of the Olympics, after he and Nick McCrory won bronze in the men's 10-meter synchronized diving event. "The craziest thing is, I didn't watch the competition at all, so I had no idea where I was placed," Boudia told Michaels. "Going into my last dive, I had no idea it was as close as it was with the top three. I was just doing what I normally do in practice."

Though the Winter Olympic Games in Russia are still 18 months away, church planters in the host city of Sochi are building relationships in order to share the Gospel with people who live and work in the area.

LONDON (BP) -- José Cárcamo learned the ways of a communist rebel a long time ago. Committed to the cause, he studied in Chile, Cuba and Russia.       But his activism didn't change his life the way he thought it would.

LONDON -- To prepare a city even as sophisticated as London for a concentrated influx of hundreds of thousands of international visitors and athletes is a massive undertaking.

LONDON (BP) -- Paige McPherson may be the one on the mat in the taekwondo competition during the Olympics, but her family in the audience is also a huge part of her success.

LONDON (BP) -- Allyson Felix finally got her gold. After winning silver in the 200-meter sprints in Athens and Beijing, Felix raced to her first individual gold medal in London Wednesday (Aug. 8), easily winning the event in 21.88 seconds.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Baptist Press’ London bureau, in tandem with Tim Ellsworth, editor of BP Sports and director of news and media relations at Union University, will be providing coverage of London Olympics. Baptist Press will publish features about Christian athletes in the Olympics, recap results of their competition and cover initiatives to share the Gospel […]