2012: London Olympics

LONDON (BP) -- In one way, Reid Priddy hopes that the London Olympics won't be a repeat of what happened in Beijing. Four years ago, tragedy struck the men's volleyball squad when Todd Bachman, the father-in-law of team coach Hugh McCutcheon, was stabbed and killed at the Drum Tower in Beijing shortly after the Opening Ceremony. In another sense, however, Priddy would take the same result from the competition itself: the men's team won gold in 2008 and Priddy, now the team's captain, thinks he and his teammates can do it again. "Gold is certainly possible," Priddy said. "I don't think the rest of the world thinks it's probable, and that's OK. They didn't think that before." London marks Priddy's third Olympics experience, and at age 34, he knows he's in the latter years of his professional volleyball career. But regardless of when the end comes, Priddy knows that the Lord has guided his steps, deepened his faith and molded him along the way. "I find that God has really used volleyball and the ups and downs and the learning aspects to shape my character, and it's a great arena for that," Priddy said. "It's a great arena to learn how to be a team player, how to put a team's goal above any personal agenda, how to work with other people." The son of a minister, Priddy grew up in a Christian home, but it wasn't until college and the years shortly thereafter when he grew in his faith. While attending Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, a Jesuit Catholic university, Priddy was part of a campus ministry and "was able to see God do some cool things with a sort of ragtag group of believers," he said. Immediately after college he spent two years in Europe, a time in which he said he developed a great fellowship with the Lord. Prior to his first Olympics experience in 2004, Priddy had a revelation. "Right before the Athens Olympics, I really felt God giving me permission to be a fierce competitor," he said. "I love to compete, and I love to try to win." He said that freedom that he felt from God to play fiercely and passionately set the stage for the rest of his career.

LONDON (BP) -- Debbie Wohler says if you want to visualize heaven, sit at the opening ceremonies of an Olympics and observe.

LONDON (BP) -- U.S. archers Jacob Wukie and Jennifer Nichols each lost in their second-round matches July 31, ending their Olympics competition in 2012.

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 […]

LONDON (BP) -- An email about a mission trip to London during the Olympics captured Terri Frasure's heart.

LONDON (BP) — U.S. shooter Sarah Scherer advanced to the finals of the women’s 10-meter air rifle competition July 28 at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London before settling for a seventh-place finish overall. “I’m very happy with my performance,” Scherer said after the competition. “It was one of those things where I had some […]

LONDON (BP) -- Brady Ellison, Jacob Wukie and Jake Kaminski became the first Americans to capture a medal in the London Olympics, winning silver in the men's archery team competition July 28.

LONDON (BP) -- Jennifer Nichols admits that the road to this year's Olympics has been one of the most trying times of her life. "My faith has been challenged more than ever before in the last few years," the U.S. archer said. "I really can see how the Lord has used the struggles and hardships I've had to deal with to deepen my relationship with Him and my trust in Him." The trials, however, have proven to strengthen Nichols' faith in the Lord and to help her rest on Him in the midst of uncertainty and confusion. "All I had was Him to run to," she said. "It has been hard and painful but so sweet at the same time. I can see how He has brought me back to really grounding myself in my identity in Christ, knowing that I am called to come and die and follow Christ to the cross for the sake of love. "This is a firm foundation that cannot be shaken." One of the challenges Nichols went through was the changing nature of the relationship with her sister, who got married in December. Nichols' sister was her traveling and training partner; the two had been practically inseparable for years. And while Nichols' knows that her sister's marriage was a good thing, it also meant that the one person who had been her closest companion now had someone else who was a higher priority. She also faced some other family struggles as well as setbacks in her performance (failing to make the 2011 Pan American team) that took a toll on her confidence. Through all of the difficulty, Nichols said she started questioning her faith. Was she really a Christian? Was she really walking in the favor and grace of God? She also realized that she had been living more legalistically, focusing on what she could do on her own to gain righteousness before God. But Nichols said God ultimately brought her to repentance and a fresh understanding of His grace in her life. "In all of it, the Lord just proved Himself so faithful," she said. "He showed me that I had placed so much of my identity and my priority in my family, rather than in Christ."

LONDON (BP) — When U.S. diver David Boudia looks at the bronze medal he won July 30 with his teammate Nick McCrory in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform event, he sees change. Boudia and McCrory put together six solid dives for a score of 463.47 points to finish third behind the teams from China (gold) […]

LONDON (BP) -- Doug Shaw points out the wave-shaped roof of the 2012 Olympic aquatics center as he looks across the tracks from Platform 4B at London's Stratford railway station. In the distance, the triangulated exterior of the main Olympic stadium is visible.