Diver Steele Johnson Relied on Faith to Compete in Olympics
By Movieguide® Contributor
Diver and Olympic silver medalist Steele Johnson relied on his faith when he faced the pressure that came with competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“I grew up in the church. I grew up going to church every Sunday. I was really involved, especially in middle school and high school, being a youth leader at my church in Indiana,” Johnson said on Sports Spectrum’s podcast. “I would basically spend all my weekends at the church, and then on Wednesdays, I would go to small group or whatever it what that the youth was having. I was a worship leader on the youth team. I was in the choir for what we call big church. So I kind of just grew up in that environment.”
“It was a really special place for me to grow up and to get that good foundation planted in me,” he added.
“Even though I was a part of the church, I really didn’t have a relationship with Jesus until I was in college,” he explained. “About a year before the Olympics, I was having this identity crisis of the stresses of trying to make this Olympic team, and growing up, everyone introduced me to others as the kid that was gonna go to the Olympics.”
“So, subconsciously, over time, that really started to take root in my heart. And that’s really who I believed that I was,” Johnson expressed.
But in 2015, the year before the 2016 Olympics, Johnson sat down with his mentor and diving partner, David Boudia, and they dove into the Gospel together.
“Having that background in the church I really understood a lot of what he was talking about,” Johnson said. “I was really able to start to develop that personal relationship with Jesus. And then from there it’s just been growing and something I have continued to rely on to get through every year.”
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After his Olympic silver medal, he shared his thoughts on the incredible moment.
“WE ARE OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALISTS! I’m still in shock,” Johnson wrote on his social media. “@davidboudia and I have had an incredibly long and tough journey to get to this moment, but it was all worth it. God has ordained this unique relationship between David and I and the amount of wisdom David has shared with me is incredible. David has been the best mentor I could ever ask for, and I wouldn’t want to share my first Olympic Medal with anyone else. Thank you all for the love and support and GO USA!”
The pair were open about their faith following the Olympics, giving God the glory for their silver medals.
“It’s cool because this is exciting, this is fun, but this is not what my identity will be for the rest of my life,” Johnson said at the time. “Yeah, I’m Steele Johnson the Olympian, but at the same time I’m here to love and serve Christ. My identity is rooted in Christ, not in the flips we’re doing.”
“We can’t take credit for this,” Boudia added. “To God be the glory.”
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