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FCA In Action > FCA supports Christian athletes during Winter Olympics

FCA supports Christian athletes during Winter Olympics

Before they reached the Winter Games, FCA Magazine shared the faith of four American Olympians.

Published on February 09, 2018

Nate Taylor
FCA staff writer

Every four years, the world's best come together for the highest possible competition. The athletes and their coaches come from different countries, various backgrounds and familiar dreams. The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Korea, will feature several triumphs and inspirational stories.
 
For two weeks, the Games will promote unity to the world. Several influential coaches and athletes during the competition will bring, display and profess their Christian faith on the international stage. As a sports ministry, FCA supports all the Christian coaches and athletes who will compete in the Winter Games.
 
In the latest edition of FCA Magazine, four American athletes shared their faith testimonies. Each athlete - Kelly Clark, Elana Meyers Taylor, Nic Taylor and Gigi Marvin - explained how they incorporate their relationship with Jesus Christ with their sport. Before competing in front of millions of people, the group of athletes, along with many other believers, understand they are already victorious through God.
 
FCA encourages its supporters learn more about the athletes featured in FCA Magazine and to follow the group on their Olympic journey.
Clark
Kelly Clark became a believer in 2004.
Kelly Clark, women's halfpipe snowboard
 
At age 34, Clark is one of the most decorated and remarkable athletes in the Olympics. Not only is she the greatest snowboarder in halfpipe history, she's also expected to contend for a medal in her unprecedented fifth Games.
 
Once disillusioned by the sport, Clark find our eternal purpose when she became a Christian in 2004. Since then, her influential rise has been both miraculous and impactful to the next generation of snowboarders.
 
"My ministry, and what God is doing in my life, is really found in my career in the marketplace," she said in the magazine. "I'm in an industry where it's very foreign and it's very counter-cultural. I get to love these people really well who would never step foot in a church."
 
The women's halfpipe competition begins Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. EST. The finals are Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. EST.
 
How you can follow Clark
 
Twitter: @thekellyclark
Instagram: @thekellyclark
Website: kellyclarkfoundation.com

Couple
Nic Taylor and Elana Meyers Taylor have been married since April 2014.
Elana Meyers Taylor and Nic Taylor, men's and women's bobsled
 
Elana and Nic are a rarity: They are a married couple that reached the Olympics in the same sport. In 2011, the couple began dating after a long phone conversation. Elana is a three-time Olympian who has won a silver and bronze medal as a pilot and brakeman, the first American to medal in both positions. Nic, a former track sprinter, became a bobsled athlete in 2012. He reached his first Olympics this year as alternate push athlete.
 
During their engagement, the couple was baptized together in front of their respective teammates. Elana and Nick realize God has blessed them because only He could have brought them together.
 
"We know God is using our time here for a purpose," Elana said in the magazine."It's exciting to be able to go through this and think about what stories we'll share with our (future) kids later, and what will come of all of this."
 
The women's bobsled finals are Feb. 21 at 6:40 a.m. EST. The men's final is Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
 
How you can follow Elana
 
Twitter: @eamslider24
Instagram: @elanameyerstaylor
Facebook: ElanaMeyersTaylor
Website: elanameyersusa.com
 
How you can follow Nic
 
Twitter: @NicTaylorUSA
Instagram: @nictaylorusa

Gigi
Gigi Marvin is a three-time Olympian.
Gigi Marvin, women's hockey
 
Marvin, who is from renamed for Warroad, Minn., has been a hockey player almost all of her life. She watched the American women play in the 1998 Nagano Winter Games and dreamed she would be blessed to have such an opportunity. At age 30, Marvin will wear "USA" across her sweater this year as a three-time Olympian and a two-time silver medalist. She experienced FCA's ministry when she attended Minnesota University.
 
"It was at FCA - and through a mentoring and discipling relationship with another athlete - that I truly learned the difference between religion and a relationship with the Lord," Marvin said in the magazine. "I learned to remove my performance mentality, striving to attain my salvation, and instead I allowed the Holy Spirit to live through me."
 
The women's preliminary round begins Feb. 10 at 2:40 a.m. EST. The gold medal game is Feb. 21 at 11:10 p.m. EST.
 
How you can follow Marvin
 
Twitter: @GigiMarvin
Facebook: Gigi-Marvin
Website: rinkrat19.com
-FCA-

Photos courtesy of Burton Snowboards, USA Bobsled and Brian Jenkins.
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