Great Britain Isn’t Known

GREAT BRITAIN ISN’T KNOWN as a Winter Olympics powerhouse. Heading into the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, the Brits hadn’t brought home a gold medal in the Winter Games for 18 years. But the all-Scottish women’s curling team ended that streak. By squeaking out a victory over Switzerland in the finals, Great Britain brought home an unlikely gold.

It’s not that the Scottish team didn’t know anything about curling—which looks like part shuffleboard and part horseshoes played on the ice. Curling is actually one of the core sports in the Scottish Institute of Sport. But experts didn’t view the squad of Rhona Martin, Debbie Knox, Fiona MacDonald, Janice Rankin, and Margaret Morton as one of the favorites.

Martin skippered the team through two tight playoff victories in the qualifying round. Then in the semifinals, the Brits beat pre-Games favorite Canada to set up a match against Switzerland. Great Britain built a 3–1 edge in the finals before the Swiss fought back to tie things at 3–3. It appeared as if Switzerland would win the gold when its stone rested in the scoring zone with the Brits having only one stone left. Martin made the most of the attempt as she and her teammates piloted the stone into the Swiss stone and knocked it away. Great Britain’s stone remained closest to the center as it won 4–3.

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POINT Numerous times during the Salt Lake City Games, Great Britain teetered on the brink of defeat. But each time Rhona Martin remained calm and helped her team claim victory. When asked how she managed to win gold, Martin said she just had faith that she could do it.

Faith is a key ingredient in our Christian life too. Without faith it’s impossible for us to believe in Jesus Christ. Sure, there’s historical knowledge that Jesus Christ walked the earth. But we must have faith that Jesus is God’s Son who came to save us from our sins. Having faith in ourselves is important and can help us achieve things on earth, but having faith in Jesus has eternal rewards.

GOAL! Look up the definition of faith in the dictionary and write it down.