An American Christian track and field athlete gave glory to God as she dashed to win the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics on Monday.
CBN News said the Tennessee-born Kendra "Keni" Harrison "felt like a win" after winning a silver medal in the Olympics' 100-meter hurdles for women. She finished the run in 12.37 seconds, following closely after Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico.
Harrison is a devout Christian who constantly gives credit to God in social media for her accomplishments and even openly declares her love for Jesus as part of her accounts' bios. Harrison also revealed that her faith enabled her to conquer her doubts and win in her first Olympic competition.
Before heading to the Olympics, Harrison posted in Instagram of not being able to join the 2016 Olympics out of doubting herself. She said what changed her to join the Olympics now is her "deeper connection with God" that not only changed her but also enabled her to conquer "all doubt."
"Missing the Olympic team in 2016 has made me a stronger Christian athlete and words can't describe the gratitude I'm feeling right now. In 2016 I allowed self-doubt to determine my destiny and became a victim to track & field press. BUT GOD..As I gained a deeper connection to God each year I noticed my faith conquering ALL doubt," Harrison said last June 22.
"This will be my 4th national title in a row but this time I can finally call myself an OLYMPIAN! God, family and friends support, Dr.Zeddies, Dr. Noah, and a coach that stuck by me through the thick and thin, Edrick Floreal, were all a part of this journey, and I am beyond grateful for each of you! Now the journey to Gold continues!" she added.
Harrison tweeted after her win that she could finally call herself an "Olympic Medalist" with a photo of her in full smiles as she held a bouquet of flowers and wore the silver medal around her neck.
CBN News pointed out that Harrison's pinned post in Twitter conveys as well her love for her Christian Faith. The pinned post conveys Harrison's surprise for being a "walking testimony" of God's greatness. The tweet includes a GIF of Harrison during one of her competitions for Adidas that showed her joy and surprise.
"Im the WORLD RECORD HOLDER 12.20," Harrison said in the tweet dated July 23, 2016. "I am a walking testimony of how incredible God truly is."
Harrison's Twitter bio explains how she got that world record award through a link leading to the World Athletics website, which an international governing body for the track and field athletics. World Athletics, which is headquartered in Monaco and originally called the International Amateur Athletic Federation during its establishment in 1912 after the closing ceremonies of the Sweden Olympic Games, launched the World Athlete of the Year in 2016.
The 2016 World Athletes of the Year gives recognition to both men and women who "excelled in the sprints and the hurdles." There were only five nominees for that recognition and Harrison was one of them and the only one who represented the United States. The winner will be cast from the votes of the organization's council and "family," which pertains to the member federations, representatives, athletes, international press, and official partners, among others.
"Kendra Harrison (USA) meanwhile broke the 28-year-old world record in the 100m hurdles with 12.20 on her way to becoming the event's Diamond Race winner. Harrison, 24, won 10 out of 11 finals outdoors. And produced eight of the year's nine fastest performances," the World Athletics description on the athlete read.
The World Athletics refers to Harrison as the "fastest hurdler in the world" for also winning the IAAF Diamond League's Eugene leg in Switzerland with a 12.24 second performance. Harrison is said to have the title of World Championships Silver Medalist, World Indoor championships Gold Medalist, Olympic Games finalist, and two-time World Championships finalist.
