Seems appropriate.
Posted on 08/11/2012 4:07:48 PM PDT by NYer
Edited on 08/12/2012 7:56:31 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
[snip]
.- Ethiopian athlete Meseret Defar provided one of the most emotional moments of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games when she crossed the finish line in the 5000 meter race to win the gold.
She then pulled a picture of the Virgin Mary out from under her jersey, showed it to the cameras and held it up to her face in deep prayer.
An Orthodox Christian, Defar entrusted her race to God with the sign of the cross and reached the finish line in 15:04:24, beating her fellow Ethiopian rival Tirunesh Dibaba, who was the favorite to win.
A teary-eyed Defar proudly showed the picture of the Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus that she carried with her for the entire race.
Throughout the event, Defar kept pace with three other Ethiopian runners and three from Kenya, until speeding past them on the homestretch to win gold.
The silver medal went to Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya and the bronze to Dibaba.
Defar is also a two-time world champion in the 3000 meters. In Athens in 2004 she won the gold in the 5000 meters and in Beijing in 2008 she won the bronze.
On June 3, 2006 she broke the world record for the 5000 meters set previously by Turkish runner Elvan Abeylegesse, with a time of 14:24:53.
Seems appropriate.
I saw it too.
Very very moving.
That’s beautiful.
Thanks for the post.
Wonderful, God love her.
i saw her make the sign of the cross also.
( it was fast, but i believe she is Orthodox... )
-
i also saw an American sprinter, clearly saying “thank you Jesus”.
i’m sure there were many many more... but probably most were not shown.
(Gabby got criticised for wearing the same hairstyle as Michelle has worn... yet Serena’s “crip walk” was mostly ignored. probably, because Gabby is a devout Christian.)
-
personally, i’d rather the Olympics had ALL athletes under the Olympic flag.
but it is truly wonderful, when such wonderful young people, give praise.
That is exactly what I was thinking. People are beginning to rebel, to protest against the oppression of the radicals whether they are liberal, leftists, communists, socialists, or muslims. It will be a non-violent protest unlike the way those other groups protest.
i saw her make the sign of the cross also.
( it was fast, but i believe she is Orthodox... )
-
i also saw an American sprinter, clearly saying “thank you Jesus”.
i’m sure there were many many more... but probably most were not shown.
(Gabby got criticised for wearing the same hairstyle as Michelle has worn... yet Serena’s “crip walk” was mostly ignored. probably, because Gabby is a devout Christian.)
-
personally, i’d rather the Olympics had ALL athletes under the Olympic flag.
but it is truly wonderful, when such wonderful young people, give praise.
I hope you are right
now may God protect her when she gets home... i hope she doesn't lose her head for this
I was very impressed by the Christian expressions by both the male and female athletes in track & field. God be praised and God bless them.
You could say that she ran a “Hail Mary” on the home stretch.
Hi. Try
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoaFaC1apnM
or just search for Meseret Defar on YouTube.
It really was wonderful. Utterly breathtakingly wonderful.
Thank you, Meseret Defar.
Bump x1000
How wonderful it was.
For all we have in this country, I wish we had more of this lady’s spirit in our hearts.
THanks much for posting.
Excellent point.
Yes, I’ve seen that too. Gave me a warm feeling.
We are the light of the world
Let our light shine before all.
That they may see the good that we do
and give glory to God.
One of the most touching scenes in track and field was a 5000 meter race with the same players, Cheryot and Tirunesh (who comes from an extended family of amazing runners). It was a similar plot with the commentators gushing over Tirunish, “The Baby-faced assassin”. Meseret did what she did yesterday, but after she finished, not stopping to gasp or fall to the ground, she turned to look back at Tirunish, meeting her at the line, hugging her and asking if she felt all right, with the look of a worried mother.
Something the American runners must be aware of, but thus far don't use - perhaps because there simply are too few great distance runners here - is that the North Africans run as a team. While I haven't had time to watch this race carefully, I have seen race after race where Meseret’s team mate, usually the lovely Sentiyehu Ejigu, runs at Meseret’s shoulder, effectively a “domestique”, to protect Meseret from the rough tactics. Those tactics have taken out Morgan Uceny in three important races, including the 1500 metere at this Olympics. Uceny, like Meseret, was a favorite in a tactical race. She has a devastating kick, and always runs conservatively. Watching Morgan through the semifinals, many expected Morgan to be on the platform, and Gold was high probability with Morgan's amazing leg speed.
In two races from which Morgan was knocked out, a runner - I believe both were African runners - takes the fall or gets spiked to interfere from behind. In one race another domestique, also an African, “accidentally” fell in front of Morgan. In 2010, when Morgan and Anna Pierce had the best times in the world, they were both taken out of the same race, which I believe was at 800 meters; both Morgan and Anna had run well under 2 minutes. The European tactical races are like roller derby, and the Americans run as individuals rather than as a team. Like it or not, that is the way this game is played.
For the running fans, the Algerian woman who won the 1500 had just returned from a two year drug suspension, and had run the second fastest time this year. The woman who had the fastest time this year, a Moroccan who was also just back from drug suspension, was banned again weeks before the Olympics. For whatever its worth, the Kenyans and Ethiopians are mostly Christians (Obama came from the Muslim Minority Luo tribe of Kenya) have seldom been sanctioned for drugs, and Meseret, as the drug sleuths have noted, has none of the characteristics common to the HGH users (human growth hormone), made famous by the bearded women from the USSR. It is a difficult problem because for many athletes drugs are the only way they feel they can be competitive. Sadly, quite a few US runners have used and been sanctioned for performance enhancing drugs. This is like the conundrum facing cycling.
Virtually everyone Lance Armstrong defeated in his many Tours has been suspended for using EPO or blood pooling. Some day we may have good enough techniques to clearly identify the “enhanced” athletes. Many, if not most of the athletes know who the dopers are, but hold their tongues for many reason, not least of which is that many of the dopers have professional contracts, the only way to make a living as runner, and the “clean” athletes depend upon the same few shoe manufacturers.
Meseret is a wonderful human being as well as an amazing athlete, and so are the women who joined her on the podium, none of whom are suspected, having had long careers of gradual improvement, of drug enhancement. Our Shalene Flanegan and Kara Goucher probably work as hard, and run their hearts out, but just aren't blessed with twenty five second 200 meter speed at 4800 meters of a 5000 meter race, which part of why they have moved to the marathon, where Meseret says she will move in the future.
I agree with your thoughts there. Definitely there is a growing base of faith among all youth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.