The Run She Didn't Want to Take

On July 23, 1996, eighteen-year-old Kerri Strug stood at the end of the vault runway in Atlanta's Georgia Dome, barely able to stand. Moments earlier, her first vault attempt had gone wrong — she under-rotated the landing and felt something snap in her left ankle. A third-degree lateral sprain. She crumpled to the mat in pain.

But the U.S. women's gymnastics team was on the verge of their first-ever team gold medal, and Strug believed her score was the one standing between her teammates and history. Coach Bela Karolyi looked at her: "Kerri, we need you one more time." She nodded.

She sprinted down the runway, launched into a Yurchenko one-and-a-half twist, and stuck the landing — then immediately lifted her injured ankle, balancing on one foot before the judges. Score: 9.712. Gold secured.

Hebrews 12:1 calls believers to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Notice that phrase: marked out for us. It is not a course we design. Strug did not choose the injury or the pressure. But when the moment demanded everything, she ran.