Dear Editor, Thank you so much for your coverage of the Olympics in recent weeks, and especially in the issue of August 18.
The Irish Catholic should be commended especially for its focus on the faith dimension of the games, something too often overlooked. In other years this might be understandable, but it is hard to justify such negligence in the case of the Rio games.
The Rio games, after all, took place under the watchful eye of the statue of Christ the Redeemer, and as Paul Keenan spelled out in his piece on ‘Faithful Olympians’, no name was so frequently on the lips of this year’s Olympians as that of Our Lord.
Many of the most iconic figures in this year’s games were Christians, who made sure to thank God for the gifts he had given them.
Usain Bolt’s miraculous medal swung from his neck as he crossed finish line after finish line, while perhaps the most remarkable athletic achievements this time were the preserve of gymnast Simon Biles and swimmer Katie Ledecky, both serious Catholics and athletes of astonishing prowess, inspirations to Catholic girls everywhere.
Yusra Mardini, the Syrian Christian refugee whose exploits in helping tow an overloaded refugee boat towards the Greek island of Lesbos is a hero by any definition, and it was good to see her highlighted too.
Yusra’s story should remind us that with all the crowing one hears about the medal table – where the leading countries are invariably those who pour money into sports, rather than other things – it is worth remembering that there are more important things in life than games. The decision to place our own Katie Taylor on the front page showed this to great effect, as did your quoting of her line so often glossed over in the mass media here: “Sometimes the plans you have in your heart aren’t God’s plans.”
Bravo!
Louise Clarke,
Clonsilla, Dublin 15.