Guide to Olympians of Faith Competing at the 2020 Tokyo Games

A year later than originally scheduled, the 2020 Olympics open in Tokyo on July 23. While religion seldom takes center stage at the events, this year’s games have already highlighted the importance of religion in various communities. On July 22, the day before the opening ceremony, Kentaro Kobayashi, the director of the event, was dismissed for ostensibly antisemetic remarks. A video of a comedy routine he performed in the 1990s resurfaced in which he seemed to joke about the Holocaust.

In addition to the most recent controversy, the circumstances of the 2020 Games may provide new challenges and opportunities for religious athletes. For the first time in history, the Games will happen without spectators, and athletes will have to spend more time in isolation. Restrictions may also make prayer spaces harder to come by. 

The controversy and context surrounding the 2020 Olympics pose an opportunity to think about the Games through a lens of faith. From a Muslim track and field athlete to Israel’s first surfer, here is a guide to the Games for the religiously-minded. 

These are the Olympians to watch in Tokyo who have publicly spoken about their faith and its impact on their athletic careers. 

Dalilah Muhammad: Hurdling for U.S.A 

Dalilah Muhammad. Creative Commons photo.

After taking home the gold medal in the 400m hurdle in Rio, Dalilah Muhammad returns to the Olympic Games this year. Alongside her journey as an athlete, Muhammad has undergone a spiritual journey as well. 

In an interview with Essence Magazine, Muhammad discussed perceived stereotypes for how Muslims should look or behave. “As I’ve gotten older, I have begun to embrace my religion. There’s a stereotype associated with being a Muslim and I don’t fit that stereotype,” she said. With her public profile she aims to challenge this mold and broaden people’s framework for thinking about Muslims.  

You can watch Muhammad this summer in the track and field events scheduled for July 30 through August 8. 

Anat Lelior: Surfing for Israel

Anat Lelior. Creative Commons photo.

More than a century after Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku advocated introducing surfing to the games, athletes will ride the waves on the world stage for the first time this summer. Jewish athlete Anat Lelior will be one of the 20 women and 20 men to pioneer the sport at the Olympics this year. 

Since the age of 5, Lelior has caught the eye of the small surf community in Israel. With few opportunities for competitive surfing in Israel, especially for girls, Lelior fought to compete in boy’s competitions. At the time, Israel had only four or five female competitors in the entire country. The Israeli Surfing Association initially denied her petition, but eventually relented and allowed her to compete.

Despite the hurdles, Lelior will represent her country and her sport in the first ever Olympic surfing competitions. 

“In a way, making the Olympics says yes, your work, your achievement, is visible. Yes, you are a woman. You are a surfer. You are an Israeli. You are Jewish. You’re a lot of things. But the Olympics, it’s confirmation,” Lelior’s father, Yochai Lelior said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. 

Pending weather conditions, the surfing competitions at Tokyo 2020 will be held from July 25 through August 1. 

Diego Schwartzman: Tennis for Argentina 

Diego Schwartzman. Creative Commons photo.

Diego Schwartzman, the highest-ranking Jewish tennis player in the world and descendent of a Holocaust victim, will compete in his fourth Olympic Games this summer. Some athletic profiles of Schwartzman list him at 5-foot-7, but many people say he sits closer to 5-foot-5. Either way, the athlete has earned the name “El Peque,” or “Shorty,” and dominated the sport despite disadvantages. 

“When I walk onto a tennis court, I don’t think about how tall I am or how much bigger my opponent is… Maybe if I was 10 or 15 centimeters taller, I’d have a better serve or be able to hit with more power. But my height isn’t going to change,” he said in an interview with Jewsish Telegraphic Agency.

Any difficulty he faces on the court or in his career pales in comparison to the suffering his parents and ancestors endured, he said. Nazis forced his great-grandfather, a Polish Jew, onto a train car headed for a concentration camp. The coupling that connected his train car to the rest of the vehicle broke, leaving Schwartzman’s car behind. He ran for his life and evaded capture, eventually settling his family in Argentina. 

You can watch Schwartsman in the tennis competitions July 24 through August 1. 

Kyle Snyder: Wrestling for USA

Kyle Snyder. Creative Commons photo.

In his debut games, Kyle Snyder captured the gold medal in men’s freestyle 97kg. With his first Olympic win in 2016, Snyder enters the games as the youngest wrestling champion in U.S. history and the reigning victor. These facts alone make Snyder one to watch, but the religiously minded might take interest in his Christian faith as well. 

“Any accolades I acquire in this life are meaningless, but the growth I experience spiritually is what means the most,” he said in an interview with Sports Spectrum Magazine. 

While wrestling remains his career path for now, pastoring a church would be one of his top career choices if he weren’t an athlete, he said.

You can watch Snyder in action during the men’s freestyle 97kg competitions August 6 through August 7.

Cat Osterman: Softball for USA

38-year-old Cat Osterman comes out of retirement this summer, along with the Olympic softball competitions. Osterman helped propel the U.S. softball team to wins in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games before the sport left the roster in 2012. After briefly retiring in 2015, Osterman began training again in 2018 with her eye on the Olympics. 

This year, softball is back and so is Osterman. Her Christian faith, she says, helps her maintain perspective amid challenges and pressure. “When I wake up there’s something way more important than anything on my to-do list, anything that’s going to happen on the softball field, anything period. I’m here for a purpose. It’s His purpose and I’m going to fulfill it,” she said. 

The first Olympic softball competitions since 2008 will happen from July 21 through August 7.

Liza is an Associate Editor at Religion Unplugged and Poynter fellow. She is a graduate of The King’s College in New York City and the recipient of the 2020 Russell Chandler Award from Religion News Association for excellence in student reporting.