We just finished the (delayed) 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo. Are you a fan? I am. I love the summer games and the winter games equally. I have my favorite events, but let’s face it, what other time would I spend hours sitting in front of my TV watching obscure sports like beach volleyball? Synchronized diving? Pole-vaulting? And feeling bummed if I missed them!
I have fuzzy memories of sitting around the TV with my family when I was a kid and when that fabulous brass theme song started playing, it made my heart race! One particular Olympics viewing that stands out in my memory took place when I was in college. It was the 1984 winter games in Sarajevo. My long-term boyfriend had just broken up with me and I was heartbroken. I mean, I was ripped apart. He was the one I thought would be my one love forever and ever. He evidently didn’t feel that way.
A girl who lived on the same floor as me in the dormitory noticed I was struggling. At dinner one night, she kindly invited me to watch the Olympics with her in her dorm room. I went, just because I knew I could use the company. Now, she was a huge Olympics fan. She’d set up a little TV in her room where she could see it from her bed and she snuggled in her blankets, ate microwave popcorn and watched every single event. Because it felt like a protective little oasis where I could forget temporarily about my broken heart, I became a fan too! Every evening for two weeks I came to her room. Cue the trumpets!! We wrapped ourselves in blankets, munched and sipped, watched snowy, icy cold sports and bonded. I do believe it was the beginning of the long road to healing for me.
Although I’m not much of an athlete and never have been, I love the Olympic spirit. I love the whole idea of
devoting yourself to something, working hard. Winning isn’t easy; losing is harder. Devoted athletes never give up. They expect something to go wrong occasionally, but they brush themselves off, stand up and go back at it. It’s never too late to try again.
The Olympics are always filled with heartwarming moments. Here are a few of my favorites that I’ve collected this year:
Two track and field athletes, one from the USA and one from Botswana, are running the 800-meter race. Tragically, during the race, their feet get tangled, and they both fall to the ground. Their dreams for medaling in this Olympic race are dashed with one unfortunate mishap. There is no do-over, at least not with this race. They help each other up, these two rivals. The Botswana runner apologized; the American acknowledged it. In an interview, the USA runner said, “No matter how mad you are, you have to be a hero at the end of the day. Because that’s what heroes do. They show their humanity through who they are and show they’re good people.”
Hmmm. Heroic. Forgiving. Heartwarming. It reminds me of a lot of the contemporary Christian romance novel heroes I’ve read about and written about.
Americans are great swimmers, let’s face it. Team USA is strong in both men’s and women’s swimming events. In the 200-meter women’s breaststroke race, two Americans were favored to strongly lead. But instead, a South African swimmer won. Not only did she win the golf medal, she set a world record. As she stared, amazed, at the board displaying the results, two other competitors swam over to her lane, put their arms around her and helped her celebrate her achievement. “You’re amazing!” one of the rivals said. They remained in a tight circle, providing support for the winner. By the way, those two swimmers? They were the two Americans predicted to win. It didn’t matter that the winner wasn’t on the same team. It didn’t matter that she’d swiped the gold medal out of their hands. That’s called sportsmanship and adoration for the sport they all love.
It may not surprise you that in the contemporary Christian universe, there are books written with Olympic athletes as heroes. Why not? These athletes embody the characteristics we embrace in our romance characters. Author Hallie Bridgeman has an Olympic book, Jade’s Match, Book 7 in her Jewel series.
Cora and Davis live their romance very publicly through social media but hate and racism threaten to destroy the relationship. Can the Olympians overcome the obstacles, or will they have to concede the match?
Although I have never written a book about Olympic athletes, I have written a book that features a high-stakes race in competitive yacht sailing. It’s Capsized, Book 4 in my Murrells Inlet Miracles series.
Two highly competitive extreme athletes pair up to achieve victory in the world of competitive yacht sailing. With physical attraction tempting them, Sadie and Jett must keep their eyes on the prize. As they face adversity and danger, will God’s will have them racing toward one another instead of the glory of the win?
Giveaway: I’ll give a copy of my book Capsized (winner’s choice of format) to one random commenter. I’ll select the winner on Sunday 8/22. Discussion items to consider: Are you a fan of the Olympics? What’s your favorite Olympic games, summer or winter? What’s your favorite event? What’s your favorite Olympics-based heartwarming story of sportsmanship? Did you watch this summer’s Olympics?
**Heartwarming, life-changing Christian fiction.** An award-winning author, Laurie is living her dream life at the beach, writing novels. Laurie writes beachy inspirational romance that takes place in the South Carolina Low Country. She retired from the big day job and now focuses on writing full time. Strolls on the sand, soaking up the sun and riding the waves can be considered the best kind of research.
I do enjoy both Olympics. This year the first week to me was better as I love the swimming, gymnastics and both are the first week. But I do love the field hockey, diving, beach volleyball and enjoyed the sport climbing. I loved the men’s high jump where the 2 top men agreed to share One from Italy and the other from an African country I think. It was really cool to see their excitement. Australia’s Nicola McDermott can second in the high jump but she was so excited and in her interview she gave all glory to God and said she hopes in time arenas will be full of people again but not just for sport but also for revivals.
Another highlight is watching the Skateboarding and watching the friendship when they would complete their turn and didn’t matter what country they all cheered and supported each other.
Oh another Olympics fan! Yay! Yes, I enjoy the first week most too. My favorite events are swimming, diving, gymnastics and equestrian show jumping.
I loved the story of the two runners who tied and instead of agreeing to a tie breaker they asked to both get the gold.
And yes, it thrills me when athletes give all the glory for their skills and victory to God. They’re putting the praise in the right place!
I remember the first Olympics that we could watch on TV and radio was the Munich Olympics and Shane Gould did so well for Australia in the swimming (Mark Spitz did well for the USA). The first Winter ones was the Lake Placid I think. 1980. I was in my last year at high school and it was on. Remember the speed skating. I love Ice skating but other sports are fun to watch except Ice Hockey as its not something I am really interested in.
I am a sports fan to a degree. I love Cricket and I do watch my Aussie Rules football team (but not other games).
I do enjoy some of the olympics. I was impressed when two athletes shared the gold medal as they were tied instead of doing a play off. Blessings
Yes that was awesome. Selfless and giving.
I’m not a fan of the Olympics. I didn’t watch any of them. We never watched them when I was growing up, that I remember. I have watched gymnastics in the past, and a few other sports, but I’m not a big sports fan. I like baseball, can tolerate basketball (like when it’s in overtime and I want to watch the news, so for half an hour I can tolerate it!).
Hahaha. I understand. When I married my husband, a true sports fan, I realized that sports would become a bigger part of my life. Then add in my two sons who each played on about a million sports teams. I must’ve been in withdrawal when this Olympics hit, now being an empty nester, so I was glued to the TV!
I have not seen that!I LOVE sports! A true NFL and college football fan here😜
My favorite has always been the ice skating, dancing. Tonya Harding kinda ruined it for me😭
Oh yeah, ice skating is awesome. Amazing they can do all that on a thin blade. Did you see the Tanya Harding movie? Very interesting!
I have not seen that!
I love both the summer and winter games. I also love watching sports that I don’t follow otherwise and agree with you about being bummed if I miss them.
It’s the magic of the Olympics that draws us to them!
Definitely! Couldn’t agree more.
I really like the winter Olympics because I can watch ice skating.
Yes, definitely. LOVE the ice skating!
The winter Olympics tend to be bigger in Canada #becausehockey but we did pretty darn good this summer, especially the women. I missed the first week because we were on vacation far from internet, but I caught the highlights most days of week two. Thankfully I could do my writing while Japan slept!
Yes! Hockey is big where you are! One thing I dislike about the host cities being in such different time zones is that you see the results in the morning before you can watch the actual event replayed later in primetime. Kind of eliminates the suspense!
Hockey is really big in Australia too only field hockey not Ice hockey. (Insert cheeky grin)
I love watching the olympics both summer and winter. I don’t remember why I started watching, but I have very early memories of them so I imagine my parents had them on.:)
Yes I think the biggest fans had their roots during childhood!
Not a fan.
I don’t watch too much of the Olympics, but I do enjoy the figure skating in the winter and the diving and swimming events in the summer.
Yes I enjoy those too.
I’m one of the few who have never watched nor been interested in the Olympics. I don’t even remember growing up watching it with my family.
It’s amazing when competing team members help each other out, putting aside differences to celebrate victories or helping when someone falls. I find it incredibly inspiring!
It sure is inspiring, Trixi. I love seeing generosity and kindness emerge amidst the competition.
I love watching the summer Olympics when I have the chance. The winter Olympics are also so much fun! Swimming and gymnastics are my favorite events to watch.
Another Olympics fan! Yes. I love those events too!
Hi, it sure sounds like you had a very good friend that helped you heal from your broken heart. I like the Olympics but this year I did not watch much of it at all, I like both Summer and Winter Olympics. I love the Tennis, Swimming , the Skating and the Gymnastics. Have a great day and a great week and stay safe. God Bless you and your family.
Hi Alicia! You’re right, my friend was right where I needed her WHEN I needed her and I’ve never forgotten her kindness, decades later!
I enjoy Summer more than Winter but enjoy both. I did watch some this year, my favorites are volleyball and gymnastics!
I’ve always loved the gymnastics. This year, the daughter of one of my college classmates was on the American volleyball team that won gold! Very exciting@
Gymnastics and Figure Skating are my favorite Olympic Events to watch.
Yep, me too!
I really don’t watch very much anymore. I enjoyed ice skating years ago.
Always a fave. :)
The most I know about the Olympics is that they exist, lol. I’ve seen snippets from some of the Olympics but not much more.
You should try them! Who knows, you may become a fan! Your next chance is the winter Olympics in 2022!
Hi Laurie, I love the Olympics and prefer Summer to Winter. It’s too hard to pick a favorite event, and I’ll watch whatever is on the tv, lol. 😊
Sounds like you and I are cut out of the same cloth! I’ll watch waaay too much TV when the Olympics are on!
I am not a sport’s fan. I do care about gymastics and swimming. I have kept track of Simone Biles as well as Michael Phleps. We did not watch any of the Olympics this year. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
I’ve loved watching both Simone and Michael compete over many years. So talented and hardworking.
I like the Winter Olympics especially Hockey. I loved the Winter of 2011 because my cousin held the Winter Torch for my Native Reserve. I also loved that they picked Ottawa against Montreal to play at the Canal & had the Stanley cup there & Ottawa won. I only read about some of the summer ones this year due to a lady who is from my area who plays Golf.
Oh my gosh Amy!! What an honor for your cousin! How awesome. And yes. It”s so interesting to watch/follow athletes from your area even tho you may not normally follow that sport.
I like the Winter ones. I enjoy watching the hockey events & love when Canada wins. I didn’t pay attention to summer this year really due to being camping & enjoying outside life with no TV.
Wow I’m really gonna have to try an electronics-free vacation. I haven’t had one in about a decade, I’d say! Thank you for commenting.
I LOVE the Olympic and usually watch everything I possibly can. This summer has been super crazy for us and we didn’t get to watch much of it which made me sad. We did record it so I could watch more now, but that feel very anticlimactic since the results are already known.
Yes I agree. Finding out the results sort takes the suspense of watching the competition later. I hope you are free to watch the next Olympics!
I am a fan but I prefer Winter Olympics :)
Figure Skating is my favorite sport to watch!
Yes I love figure skating! We don’t have long to wait! 6 months till the Winter Olympics in Beijing!
I love the Olympics too, Laurie. Though I don’t enjoy sports at all, it amazes me for someone to work and train their entire lives to compete in the Olympics simply because they love their sport. My favorite memories were the 1988 Summer Olympics. For the first time, I watched as an adult. I had a beauty salon at my house and was home all day with appointments mostly after everyone got out of school and work. I watched almost every event. Carl Lewis was my favorite. Wow could he run.
Then the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, marred by a bomb. My husband was gone on a business trip and I was home alone. I moved a mattress in the living room and slept in the floor. I watched everything for 4 days straight. I’d watch, sleep, and watch some more. Michael Johnson and his gold shoes. I love shoes and I love gold, so I wanted a pair. I love the swimming events too. Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky have been faves over the years.
I like the winter Olympics too, but not as much. I do miss when the Olympics were more patriotic though.
Oh it sounds like you have some wonderful memories of the summer Olympics! Yeah, this year’s tv coverage didn’t often show the medal ceremonies. I always love hearing the national anthems and the look of patriotic pride in the athletes’ eyes!
Hi, Laurie!
I have never had much of an athletic bent, but I do enjoy the traditional favorites like gymnastics, swimming and ice skating. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched them on TV, though. In high school, I was a photographer for the yearbook and loved getting some great shots of the divers for the girls’ swim team. Hmm, teenage boy, girls’ swim team, probably a no-brainer there. :-)
I really enjoyed the first three Murrell’s Inlet books. I think reading Sanctuary may have been the start of the path that led me to IR way back when. No need to include me in the giveaway. I like to support my local word slingers. :-D
My favorite event is women’s gymnastics. It absolutely amazes me what the human body can do!
Hi!
I like both Summer and Winter, but I don’t consider myself a fan. I usually just try to catch the sports that interest me the most, or at times I’ll just watch whatever’s going on at the moment (that means I tried to watch women’s gymnastics and pole vaulting but ended up with women’s skateboarding, synchronized diving, and men’s 100 and 400M swimming).
Thank you for sharing those stories! I hadn’t heard of them, but it’s definitely nice to remember that more than their preparation and impressive career, what matters the most at the end is their humanity.
I love the Olympics just as you do ~ every bit of it. This time around I missed the opening ceremony and was so bummed! One of the author’s blog in this giveaway spoke of two Aussie runners and their sportsmanship. I love stories like that!
Are you a fan of the Olympics? Yes! However, I wasn’t able to watch this summer.
What’s your favorite Olympic games, summer or winter? I enjoy the summer Olympics more.
What’s your favorite event? Gymnastics
What’s your favorite Olympics-based heartwarming story of sportsmanship? I will always hold the magnificent 7 in my heart. I was in middle school and those girls were such an inspiration to me.
Did you watch this summer’s Olympics? Not this time :( Summer was too short and busy.