Gold Medalist Turns Olympic Press Conference Into Worship

At its heart, professing the Christian faith means wholeheartedly believing that God brings light out of darkness.

So, while we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens, it still has the power to amaze us.

During a press conference at the controversial and irreverent Olympics in Paris, gold medalist Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany surprised everyone by breaking into a gospel song in praise of Jesus in response to a moderator’s question.

To his credit, the moderator’s question seemed intended to invite such a heartfelt act of worship.

“Yemi, is it true you sing in the gospel choir?” he asked.

When she replied in the affirmative, he asked her what song she had going through her head during the competition.

According to Athletics Weekly, Ogunleye won the women’s shot put gold medal in dramatic fashion. After entering the final round in second place, she saved her best throw for last, earning a come-from-behind victory over Maddison-Lee Wesche of New Zealand.

“I just lifted my hands and prayed before my final attempt, and I wanted to have a good last round,” Ogunleye said. “Then after that throw and realizing it would maybe be good enough for gold, I thought, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’”

The freshly crowned gold medalist carried that spirit of gratitude into her press conference, where she performed “I Almost Let Go.”

Written over 20 years ago by Grammy-nominated gospel composer Kurt Carr, the song narrates the journey of someone who nearly fell into despair before finding salvation through God.

Ogunleye sang eleven lines from the middle of the song:

I almost let go.
I was quite at the edge of a breakthrough,
But couldn’t see it.
The devil really had me,
But Jesus came and grabbed me.
He held me close, so I wouldn’t let go.
God’s mercy kept me, so I wouldn’t let go.
So I’m here today because God kept me.
I’m alive today only because of His grace.
Oh, He kept me. God kept me. God’s mercies kept me,
So I wouldn’t let go.

The German gold medalist’s powerful and angelic voice belted out those lyrics for 52 seconds.

“That was the song that I was just singing,” she then said as the moderator, silver-medalist Wesche and bronze-medalist Jiayuan Song of China applauded the performance.

Readers may watch the press conference below. Ogunleye began singing at the 9:30 mark.

WATCH:

With her rendition of “I Almost Let Go,” Ogunleye joined the ranks of female athletes who have brought a redemptive spirit to the otherwise controversial Olympics.

For example, American hurdler and gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone gave glory to God in an interview with NBC’s Mike Tirico.

British hurdler Cindy Sember shared an Instagram video of herself and ten other female athletes from various countries gathered around a piano, singing praises to Jesus.

Meanwhile, Brazilian teenage skateboarding sensation Rayssa Leal praised Jesus through sign language, directly to the camera.

We must pray for those who have yet to recognize God’s work through the voices of Ogunleye and these other remarkable athletes, who have brought light into the darkness of the woke Olympics.

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