What does it mean to glorify God as a sportsman? Is it winning the gold medal? Breaking the world record? Ahead of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, Athletes in Action (AIA) invites us to reflect on the idea of sporting greatness.

With a vision to reach athletes on campuses and national teams, AIA integrates faith and sports to provide a platform for athletes to explore their purpose and grow spiritually as Christians. Their latest #WinForWhat video series features personal stories of four athletes, each sharing their perception of greatness and how setbacks in their sports career changed their perspective. 

We spoke to a few national athletes from AIA, who shared how their views on greatness have changed over the years. 

Goh Chui Ling (31) 

National middle-distance runner

Still competing actively, Chui Ling holds multiple national records, is a lawyer, and is pursuing a PhD in Sports Law concurrently. Despite all these achievements, the sportswoman does not identity greatness with these accolades.  

As a young athlete, Chui Ling sought to break “records” and to “be known”. However, she realised over time that “all the records and news do not sustain” since they only “last for a few days or sometimes at most 24 hours.” 

Recognising the temporal nature of achievements in life changed her perspective on greatness. “Now, I focus on the message that every race conveys,” she said.

Sharing how she kept her faith through the years as a top-level athlete, Chui Ling said that the pain of sports pushed her to turn to God.

With each race being a personal journey with God, Chui Ling believes that winning is “so much more than yourself” – it has much more to do with God.

Bryan Ng (37)

Former national rugby player  

As a national rugby player for 11 years, Bryan used to equate greatness to winning the match: “I was so focused on being the best rugby player. I didn’t care about everybody. I didn’t care about anybody – it was ‘win at all costs’.”

However, Bryan’s sense of security was challenged after he was made to go on a nine-month ban from rugby after a verbal altercation with a referee.

Struggling with the idea of having to live without rugby for nine months, Bryan sought to occupy his time with other interests.

Exploring new passions such as sailing, and even acting in a play produced by his university, Bryan started to understand that “there is more to life than rugby”. 

Since then, Bryan’s idea of winning is no longer confined to securing victory in a game, but gaining much more from life itself outside of the sport he loves.

“Winning is more than just the game. It’s about winning life,” affirms Bryan, who now seeks to enjoy the game with his teammates and win people to the kingdom of God by being a testimony of God’s love. 

Mok Ying Ren (36)

Former national long-distance runner and marathoner

Ying Ren is a SEA Games gold medalist and is also known as the seven-time local champion of the Singapore Marathon. Known for his sporting achievements, Ying Ren had long found running to be his identity and winning races as his definition of success. 

Unfortunately, the renowned marathoner met with an unexpected injury in 2015 which would ultimately lead to his retirement from the sport.

Desperate for healing after he first sustained the injury, Ying Ren followed his friend to a church in anticipation of a miracle.

It wasn’t physical healing that Ying Ren found, however, but an encounter with God through His Word. “It was God’s Word that saved me through that difficult period,” he recounted.

Coming to recognise that “there is an imperishable inheritance awaiting him” has transformed his perspective and response to greatness, as Ying Ren now sees that living for eternity is of greater worth than chasing after the achievements of this world.

“The definition of success, as per the Bible, is that if you’re a Christian, you are already a success. Since I am already successful, there is no need for me to pursue the things of this world to feel even more successful.”

As a Christian, Ying Ren now finds his worth in God. He now knows that even without his achievements, he is valued and loved by God. 

Being convinced of his identity in Christ has reshaped his understanding of success. Ying Ren no longer measures his worth with his achievement, but finds it in simply being who God has called him to be. 

Ng Hanbin (35)

Former basketball player with Singapore Slingers 

Growing up in the faith, Hanbin witnessed how God transformed his father from a violent man into a nurturing father.

Finding God’s goodness to be so evident in his family’s salvation has helped to keep Hanbin’s faith strong through his journey as an athlete. 

When it came to success, Hanbin shared that he started off working hard for himself as he “wanted to play for fame.”

That was his mindset until he was given an opportunity to coach basketball in prison. As he shared his story and built relationships through the four sessions of coaching, he eventually saw that “what is meaningful in life is how you create impact”.  

Having the right perspective is how Hanbin has navigated setbacks in his sporting career and life, such as injuries and also kidney damage from childhood resulting in a need to be on lifelong medication.

His road hasn’t been without its troubles, but Hanbin is still able to express gratitude for his “injuries and struggles” because he knows that each time he faces challenges, God is leading him into growth and a deeper faith. 

Today, Hanbin is a coach to private students and strives to ”be the person that can influence or give back”, since greatness to him is simply influencing and helping people to lead better lives.

Calvin Kang (34)

Former national sprinter

Calvin first represented Singapore in the Olympics at the age of 18. Looking back on those years as a young athlete, Calvin recounted that many around him thought of greatness as “being seen and being heard”.

But as a Christian, Calvin grew up with a sense of purpose in mind: “I knew that my purpose as an athlete was to be excellent and a good role model by imparting my experience to others.”

Calvin believes that greatness is not “self-seeking”, but is a posture and attitude that “gives its best with all that you have been given”.

“Regardless of the outcome, you just give God the glory,” he affirmed. 

Godly values like these are what Calvin holds close to his heart; he credits being a part of AIA in his younger days as what has helped him to build biblical principles that still ground him even today.

“Greatness is born from an unwavering resolve to decrease so that Christ can increase.” (Pastor Chuck Swindoll)

Greatness is simply letting God be glorified through our gifting and talents. As we continue to ponder on greatness and success through this sporting season – have a look at the #WinForWhat series for videos that encourage and edify!

Additionally, AIA will be hosting an online workshop on 15 July to explore how the #WinForWhat video series can be used to bridge conversations with people and evangelise to them. 

If you are interested in finding out more about the AIA ministry, you can also join them for their monthly gathering (ASSIST) which takes place every third Wednesday of the month, where athletes gather to learn godly principles they can live by. The next ASSIST session will be on 17 July. Feel free to get in touch with them on Instagram or Facebook!