By Mallory Mattingly
Olympian Paul Schommer just helped get Team USA its best biathlon finish ever.
As he competed in the event, which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, through a rough course plagued with fatigue, he looked to his faith in God to persevere.
“There’s this redemption aspect of it that’s really cool, because your past shooting doesn’t have to define your next shooting,” the biathlete told the Baptist Press ahead of his Olympic competition. “It’s hard. It humiliates you. Just when you think you got it figured out, you don’t. But there are always new opportunities that await you if you just keep moving forward.”
Schommer didn’t earn a medal this time around but “finished as the second American in each of his three individual races” and “helped the U.S. relay team place fifth — the best Olympic result ever for an American biathlon relay team. Before this year, the Americans’ best relay finish was sixth place, achieved three times (twice by men, once by women),” Sports Spectrum reported.
Related: Air Force Member Overcomes Adversity to Represent Team USA in Winter Olympics
He previously competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where his mixed relay team took seventh place.
For more inspiring sports stories, check out Sports Spectrum.
Luckily for Schommer, his identity isn’t wrapped up in results.
“I really started to understand that God actually likes me,” Schommer told the Baptist Press of his time with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization in high school. “He actually wants to speak to me. He wants to move in my life in a way that goes beyond understanding or comprehension at times.”
“What’s the heart of God like?” he continued. “Does His heart change based off the result? Is He surprised by the result? Or is He an all-knowing, all-loving God who understands the mistakes that we’re going to make before we make them? Does He allow us to go through some of these things to shape and mold us?”
The Wisconsin native announced that the 2026 Winter Olympics would be the final competition of his career. He understands that the Christian life is meant for community, and though he has a teammate he talks faith with, he wants more. He is ready to spend time with his family, friends and church.
“It’s just not a true replacement for what I feel like we’re really called to do: to live in community, to be there for one another when times are tough and the times are good, to celebrate with each other and to share meals and to challenge each other and just walk through life together,” he said.
Schommer’s life is a powerful reminder to root our identities in the finished work of Christ, no matter how we perform.
Read Next: Hockey Player Leans on Faith While Leading His Team at 2026 Winter Olympics
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +2Share:
– Content: +1