"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play…it is war minus the shooting."
Lauryn Williams
Lauryn Williams took the silver medal in the Olympic two-man bobsleigh in Sochi. Leading going into the third round, Lauryn and her driver Elana Meyer were overtaken by Canada for the gold medal. She is the first woman to win medals at summer and winter Olympics. Lauren said afterwards: "I'm not sure what the future holds for me, but it will start with pizza tonight."To make the Olympics is an amazing achievement for any human being. American sprinter, Lauryn Williams, has competed in three summer Olympics, gaining a sprint relay gold medal in 2012. She also won the individual 100 metres at the 2005 World Championships. At the end of 2013 Lauryn pulled down the curtain on al illustrious career – or so it seemed.
Lauryn on a more familiar surface
Lauryn is currently in Sochi, competing for USA in bobsled! She has thoroughly enjoyed the experience: “I am into the sport with a very humble mindset, knowing that there are people in the team who have done the sport for years and are a lot better at it than me and I knew I needed to be a good student.“There is the danger element and you have to trust a lot of people – the coaches and the other people who are telling you what to do. A huge part of growing my faith while doing this sport is that this is a new situation where I have to rely on him more. While track is a more individual sport where it is easy to think you are doing it all yourself. Here when you are part of a team God’s presence seems more clear and available”.
On the podium
She is approaching the Winter Olympic experience with a different mindset from her sprinting: “ 6 or 8 months ago I would not have said this was a possibility for me so in a sense the pressure is off. This is a once in a lifetime chance. I haven’t trained for this 4 years – just last 6 months. That takes the pressure off. I can just go out and do it to the best of my ability. Having been in an Olympics before and felt that pressure – I understand what the team is feeling but I don’t feel the same pressure. I read the Bible - Proverbs in particular -because we never have enough wisdom or understanding”.
Lauryn is in the extreme right
This extract from Lauryn’s blog gives a great insight into the bob-sled experience: “Bobsledders are crazy smart (emphasis on both “crazy” and “smart”). You must be insane and incredibly intelligent at the same time to be a bobsledder. I described my first trip down as HORRIFIC and seriously contemplated announcing my retirement after just one trip!! Being jostled around in an unenclosed contraption, while being sucked down by G-forces, with the possibility of crashing, is not something one should volunteer to do and definitely not sign up a second time after going down the first! However, I have met 2 doctors, a nurse, a few computer wiz’s, more MBA’s than I can count, and various other highly skilled and educated people who have been doing it for years. With so much knowledge it is baffling how we would all be willing to risk rattling these precious brains riding 90 miles an hr down a track. Yet, I am still here”.Lauryn on faith:"Believe me, I am still in process! But I am not afraid to say that I know the Lord is the head of my life and I must continue to pursue Him in order to gain KNOWLEDGE and to GIVE myself to doing what is right".
Credits: Photos – as posted by Lauryn on Twitter. Text based on several personal conversations with Lauryn with additional material from www,beyondtheultimate,com, used by permission.