The South African athlete Anrune Weyers won the Paralympic gold on Saturday, August 27, in the 400-meter sprint. It was a beautiful way to crown the efforts of an athlete who had recently contracted COVID-19. Despite it all, she was able to realize her dream: “to run with God.”
When she crossed the 400m finish line at the Paralympics on Saturday, August 27, it was a triumph for Anrune Weyers. The South African sprinter competes in the T47 classification (“Athletes with a unilateral upper limb impairment resulting in some loss of function at the shoulder, elbow and wrist and which impacts sprints primarily”).
She was full of gratitude at being able to compete: “To be running and breathing is a big gift for me and I was quite overwhelmed by my emotions because I didn’t do it alone. All glory to God,” she told the television channel News24.
A few weeks ago, a medal at the end of the track was not assured. On June 13, two months before the launch of the Paralympic Games, she discovered that she had come down with COVID-19.
Although she had been vaccinated a few weeks earlier, she still feared she might miss out on participating in the competition. Fortunately, she had her faith to fall back on as she went through this difficult time.
She told News24, speaking of God, “He was with me when I had COVID-19 when I thought my dream of going to the games was gone. He came and made it our dream.”
In an Instagram post on August 16, she said:
I have had many high’s & many Low’s , but grateful to say that GOD has always been faithful in all of it & he held me tight in the bad & good. I am honored and grateful to EMBRACE tokyo 2021 and RUN with GOD every step.”
“I’m so grateful for the journey God has placed me on,” Weyers told Sports Spectrum. “He’s shown me that He’s on this journey with me. He’s used my talent in athletics to not only win medals and experience victories, but to grow me closer to Him. I know I’m doing this with God.”
While the aftermath of COVID meant she still had a higher-than-normal heart rate, the sprinter persevered. On her Instagram account, the champion, born with a congenital malformation that deprived her of her left hand, documents the resumption of her training. Her perseverance paid off!
Sports Spectrum ends their article about her with this inspiring and faith-fulled quote:
I will continue to run until I’m done with what God has for me to do. God is pulling me closer and closer to Him, showing me how real He is. In a world of darkness, I want to be a light. I want to be the image of Christ to everyone I can, showing them that God is there for them as He is for me.
Weyers is a light indeed, shining brightly as an example of radiant faith for all of us.
And today we celebrate...