Catholic Olympians

Going for gold: Catholics make Olypmic History

There is a long history of Catholic athletes taking center stage during the Winter Olympics. Here are five former Olympians as notable for their Catholic faith as for their athletic achievements.

YUNA KIM

Yuna Kim is a South Korean figure skater who won a Gold medal in 2010 and a silver medal in 2014 A few years before her Olympic debut, the doctor who treated a knee injury made an impression on her His devout Catholic faith convinced her to convert When Kim was baptized and confirmed in 2008, she vowed to pray always, particularly before competing . She did, always making the sign of the cross before taking the Olympic ice

CURTIS TOMASEVICZ

three Hail Marys before coming to a stop! A Nebraska native, Tomasevicz lives in the Diocese of Lincoln

Curtis Tomasevicz is an American gold and silver Olympic medalist who earned his doctorate in Bioengineering and is a Catholic speaker The three-time Olympian credits his faith with getting him through his bobsledding career from beginning to retirement and even a notable crash that lasted so long he was able to pray

DAVID BAUER

David Bauer turned down a contract to play hockey for the Boston Bruins in 1940 to enter the seminary, but his hockey career was far from over Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, Fr Bauer is still one of the most influential individuals in Canadian hockey history His beliefs in sportsmanship and fair play transformed Canadian hockey He coached the 1964 Olympic Canadian Hockey team and managed other Olympic teams He continued to be involved in Canadian hockey until his death in 1988

REBECCA DUSSAULT

Rebecca Dussault was an American cross-country skier When she participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics, she wrote “Blessed Frassati” across her skis in honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati . Since her retirement from skiing, the mother of five’s ambitions include “to live heroic virtue and become a saint” and “to have a peaceful home full of happy, healthy children ”

The Olympic flame was handed to organizers of the Pyeongchang, South Korea, Winter Olympics Feb. 9-25, 2018, in Athens, Greece. The ceremony was held in Panathenaic Kallimarmaro Stadium.

skating records in the United States and six junior world records in her brief career. Then, she surprised her family and friends by retiring from her athletic career to become a postulant with the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in the Bronx Six years after taking her vows, Sister Catherine was among six Franciscans invited by the Bishop of Leeds to open a new convent in England

— Annie Lust, Graceful Living magazine