CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- An Olympic runner whose sportsmanship drew headlines this week says that her faith in God helps her to find joy in her sport.<\/p>\nAbbey D\u2019Agostino, who was raised in a Catholic family, spoke to Julia Hanlon\u2019s \u201cRunning On Om\u201d podcast, published November 18, 2015. She discussed her fears and anxieties about running, her injuries, and her prayer life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ended up just accepting Jesus and recognizing what that meant in my life,\u201d she told Hanlon. \u201cI felt the peace that comes with acknowledging that I\u2019m not going to run this race with my own strength. And I think that acknowledging those fears before God is what allowed me to feel that peace and I was drawn to it and I wanted to know a God who would work that way in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I started to rekindle more the sheer joy of the sport,\u201d said D\u2019Agostino, who is now 24.<\/p>\n
During the Women\u2019s 5,000-meter run on Tuesday, D\u2019Agostino and New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin collided, both tripping and tumbling to the ground. \u00a0<\/p>\n
After picking herself up, D\u2019Agostino did not immediately continue to run, but instead turned back to help Hamblin. Then, in tremendous pain, D\u2019Agostino was unable to go on, and Hamblin remained with her for a few moments, offering to help her up.<\/p>\n
The two finished the race, but D\u2019Agostino was visibly limping for the last five laps. At the finish line she shared a hug with Hamblin, then left the track in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
Although the fall meant that both runners failed to advance to the final race, Olympic judges ruled that they would be allowed to compete in the finals, due to their show of sportsmanship.<\/p>\n
However, it was later announced that D\u2019Agostino would be unable to compete, due to a torn ACL.<\/p>\n
D\u2019Agostino issued a statement on the race Wednesday: \u201cAlthough my actions were instinctual at that moment, the only way I can and have rationalized it is that God prepared my heart to respond that way. This whole time here he\u2019s made clear to me that my experience in Rio was going to be about more than my race performance \u2013 and as soon as Nikki got up I knew that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She had previously recounted how her reliance on God helped calm her anxiety before a big race.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the outcome of the race is, I\u2019m going to accept it,\u201d she would say to herself. \u201cI was so thankful and just drawn to what I felt like was a real manifestation of God\u2019s work in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
She told Hanlon that previous injuries forced her \u201cto depend on God in a way that I\u2019ve never been open to before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn theory I\u2019ve known that trusting God and giving my whole self to him is the only way in which you can feel that peace and joy and satisfaction that he offers. But it\u2019s another thing to experience that and to be caught up in a situation where what you believe is exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe depths of injuries, for me, exposed what\u2019s in my heart,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After her injuries, the feelings of loneliness and loss of self-assurance have made her examine whether she really relies on God and really aims to give God control and glorify him through sport.<\/p>\n
The runner also spoke of her spiritual life. She uses her prayer time to reflect on \u201cwhat God has done in my life.\u201d\u00a0 She will listen to worship music, read Scripture, and write in her journal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brings me to a place of humility, where I\u2019m acknowledging my place before God,\u201d D\u2019Agostino told Hanlon.<\/p>\n
When she runs, she thinks that reliance on God and the presence of the Holy Spirit will \u201cfuel me either consciously or subconsciously.\u201d<\/p>\n
D\u2019Agostino also spoke of her fears about speaking about her faith in a public way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to feel that I\u2019m proselytizing and shoving it in people\u2019s faces. But at the same time it\u2019s authentic, when I do speak of it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s been a real journey for me in the past year. How do I find my own voice within the social media realm and really just own it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people feel like I\u2019m trying to sell it,\u201d she added. \u201cThat\u2019s my fear. I wouldn\u2019t want to be sold Christianity. That\u2019s not what it\u2019s about. God\u2019s truth can stand on its own. It doesn\u2019t need to be sold, it\u2019s true in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s hard to present your beliefs in a way that is inspiring and encouraging and gentle, and that\u2019s how I would want to receive it. That\u2019s how I did receive it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a December 2013 interview with GaryCohenRunning.com, D\u2019Agostino answered a hypothetical question about who she\u2019d meet if she had a time machine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to meet Mother Theresa. That would be it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat would be special to talk to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 17, 2016 \/ 04:49 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- An Olympic runner whose sportsmanship drew headlines this week says that her faith in God helps her to find joy in her sport.<\/p>\n
Abbey D’Agostino, who was raised in a Catholic family…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas"],"yoast_head":"\n
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