(RNS) Faith is the “most important aspect” of Allyson Felix’s life and the reason she runs.
That’s the testimony the six-time Olympic medalist wrote for Beyond the Ultimate, Cru’s sports ministry.
And she repeated it to the Los Angeles Times ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
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Felix finished second in the 400-meter after Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas, who took a dive across the finish line. That silver medal — her seventh total — makes her the most decorated woman in U.S. track and field history, passing Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
She still could race Saturday (Aug. 20) in 4×400 relay.
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Growing up, Felix’s dad was a seminary professor, her family was very involved in their church and she became a Christian at a young age. It wasn’t until she tried out for track as a freshman at Los Angeles Baptist High School that she discovered her talent for running, according to Christianity Today.
Now at 30, running has become a “platform so that I can share my faith with the world.”
God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure. -Eric Liddell pic.twitter.com/E6VDifQzUX
— Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) August 7, 2016
She wrote for Beyond the Ultimate:
“My running is an amazing gift from God and I want to use it to the best of my ability to glorify Him. You have to have this passion and you have to have a reason for doing what you’re doing. And there really has to be a purpose there, I think that’s what drives success. I know my talent is from God. And that’s my purpose: to run to glorify Him.”
For all the Olympic medals and world records, Felix’s goal still is the same: “to be more Christ-like each and every day.” She still goes to church each Sunday and listens to sermons when she is on the road competing.
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But while faith is important to her, it doesn’t necessarily make what she does any easier. She missed qualifying for her favorite event, the 200-meter, after she tore ligaments in her ankle in late April.
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“I think a lot of times you want faith to kind of be the answer to everything, and it’s still a struggle to get there, you know?” she told the Los Angeles Times.
“There are very real moments that are hard, but I think that it helps me to be able to learn the lesson that there is a purpose, a reason why maybe that happened, and it can create something in you and it might be preparing you for something better in the future.”