Olympic runner Allyson Felix credits her faith for her success as an athlete.
The runner placed second in the Women's 400-metre race in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, bringing her total Olympic medal haul to seven and setting the record as the most decorated Olympian in track and field for the U.S. team, NPR reported.
The victory is a meaningful one for Felix after she suffered many setbacks in the previous year leading up to the Olympics. She suffered through the death of her grandfather and had to deal with a hamstring injury which effectively sidelined her for the Women's 200 m category.
Through it all, she acknowledged that her biggest motivation has been her faith.
"Faith leads my life. That's definitely the reason that I run. I definitely feel like I've been blessed with this gift, and so that's something that helps me to see the bigger picture. It's so easy to get caught up in winning everything and just the kind of the grind of what professional sports is, but it definitely helps me to kind of pull back and see that there's a greater purpose. [Career down moments] are still difficult," she told the LA Times.
The runner explained that while people may expect faith to be the answer to everything, she sees it as a guide in understanding the purpose of life's struggles.
"I think that it helps me to be able to learn the lesson that there is a purpose, a reason why maybe that happened, and it can create something in you and it might be preparing you for something better in the future," she said.
She confessed that even at an early age, she has always seen God as her Saviour, so it comes naturally for her to calm her worries with the help of the Bible and having heartfelt conversations with God.
"I know my talent is from God. And that's my purpose: to run to glorify Him," she said.
