Olympic Wrestler Has One Message: Give Your Heart to Jesus
By Movieguide® Contributor
Twenty-year-old wrestler Kennedy Blades, one of the youngest Olympians in the 2024 games, has a powerful message for everyone watching.
When asked what has contributed the most to helping her reach the Olympic stage, Blades had one answer: Jesus.
“I’m going to be honest, like, I’ve just gotten super close to Jesus, and I just want to tell you guys that He’s King, and He’s coming soon,” she said in a video shared by Christhlete. “So, I really believe if you guys put your heart into Jesus Christ, you guys will experience nothing but happiness and grace. He’ll help you through trials and tribulations. It’s Him! That’s the main reason why I was able to accomplish such a big thing.”
Blades will keep training until she reaches her goal of winning gold at the Olympics.
“This whole time I’ve been thinking about Olympic gold rather than just being an Olympian. There’s something missing. That’s why I’m more hungry still to keep training,” Blades told NBC Chicago in an interview.
Blades’ coach, Izzy Martinez, said the athlete “won’t break. She’ll keep going and find a way to win.”
She’s been getting her head in the game, too, writing, “I’m an Olympic champion” hundreds of times before the Olympic trials.
“I couldn’t stop. I closed my book, and the next day I did it again and again and again,” Blades said. “I think I’ve kind of manipulated my head into thinking, ‘You’re the champion. Let’s get what’s yours.'”
However, even though Blades took him the gold at the trials, she won’t be satisfied until a gold medal from the Olympics is around her neck.
“I know once that happens, that satisfaction that I was missing after I won the Olympic Trials, that’ll fill in,” she concluded.
You can catch Blades compete on Aug. 10-11 on NBC or streaming on Peacock.
Movieguide® previously reported on another Olympian who is giving God the glory:
Brazilian street skateboarder Rayssa Leal pointed fans to God after she took home the bronze medal in the women’s street skateboarding event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
When the cameras were on her, the athlete used American Sign Language to sign John 14:6: “Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
The 16-year-old skateboarder also took to her Instagram where she posted another Bible verse. This time it was Joshua 1:9.
“Another chapter in my story,” Leal wrote on her Instagram.
“Didn’t I command you? Be strong and courageous! Don’t get carried away or discouraged…” she included.
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