I love the Olympics. The excitement. The talent and gifts. Just the beauty of the best of the best competing for their countries. I only recently began to be interested in the track and field events at all, and I honestly had no clue what the decathlon was other than a bunch of events. I learned what those events are in this book:
Day 1
100-meter dash
long jump
shot put
high jump
400 meters
Day 2
110-meter hurdles
discus throw
pole vault
javelin throw
1500 meters
Holy cow! I think a marathon is intimidating but this event is two days of events that a decathlete needs to be awesome at. But what surprised me most about Bryan Clay's autobiography was that he is not necessarily physically built to be an Olympic gold-champion decathlete. He's much shorter and more svelte than other giants in his sport. And yet, God has blessed him to be a champion
Even if you look past his physical stature, Clay's past should very well have placed him in prison or some menial position job (paraphrased from the book, not my words!). His parents divorced after a few years of awful fighting - verbal and physical. He didn't do well in school - not a dumb person but just didn't care. Just a bunch of things were against him - he partied and lived a lifestyle very unfit for an Olympian, let alone a Christian.
Then God took hold of his life and turned him around. The Lord was with him competing, in his relationship with his now-wife (and mother of his 3 children), Sarah. The book walks you through Clay's redeemed life in Christ to Olympic gold.
Unfortunately, Clay was unable to make the 2012 Olympics but that doesn't diminish the facts about him: he's an Olympic gold medalist, he's a great husband, a terrific father, and a man of God.
Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. Others may or may not have the same experience(s) with this book and/or publisher that I've had. And nobody else may be excited for the Olympics or decathlon either. :)
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