Lindon Victor is one of the Top 3 athletes in the world.
On August 3, Victor won the Olympic bronze medal in the Decathlon in the Paris Olympics, the grueling 10-event track and field contest whose winner lays claim to being the “World’s Greatest Athlete.”
To be world-class at one track and field event is rare. But to be world-class in 10 is incredible. Victor says he owes it to God, just like the man in Jesus’ Parable of the Talents.
“I am truly grateful because I know that I’m in this position because of the grace of God. I think about the guy that was given 10 talents,” Victor is quoted saying. “That’s how I feel.”
In 2024, Victor was competing in the Olympics for Grenada, the Caribbean island country he comes from. But 10 years ago, he was an All-American track and field athlete competing in the decathlon for Benedictine College, in Atchison, Kansas, where he holds the record for Decathlon, Javelin, and the Discus.
A Caribbean kid believed in God, the giver of athletic talents
“You don’t choose the decathlon — the decathlon chooses you,” Victor says in the cover story about him by Shiloh Urban in Fort Worth magazine.
Or maybe it’s God who chooses it for you, he said.
“Decathletes fit a mold and a prototype, and certain things you just have to be born with,” he told Urban. “There are not a lot of people blessed enough to be able to do 10 events, you know? God gave me these talents, and the best way to reward him is to maximize those talents, even when setbacks come.”
As a kid, Victor was a hard worker on his family farm in Grenada, but he hoped his athletic gifts would get him into college. At first, it looked like they wouldn’t. He applied to more than 20 colleges. They all turned him down.
“They told me that I wasn’t good enough; they told me that I couldn’t help their team,” he told Urban. “And then … one college told me Yes.”
Benedictine College gave him a scholarship and he jumped at it.
Charles Gartenmayer, athletic director at Benedictine College, remembers coming across Victor in the recruits and working to get him. Then, “He was here! Our goal is for our students to get their degree, have a strong walk with Christ, get along with others, and become leaders. That was easy in Lindon’s case.”
An amazing athlete
Seth Caywood, a former Raven teammate of his, can attest to his prowess. “Lindon was just a freak athlete. Football coaches at Benedictine would always jokingly ask him to join the football team — but not really joking.”
Current Raven track coach Jacob Connealy was also a teammate of Victor’s. “I beat him in the Decathlon at our conference meet,” he said. “Afterwards he told me, ‘You realize that is the last time you will ever beat me.’ I believed him and it was true.”
He and Connealy were close. “He used to come up to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving,” he said, and accompanied the team to a Mass celebrated by Connealy’s uncle, a priest.
Victor eventually followed his track skills to an NCAA Division I university, but the decision was difficult for him, according to Hayden Reed, another international student, from Australia, on the team.
“It’s wild he considered staying at Benedictine College,” he said. “But deep down we all knew he needed to go.”
“I really love Benedictine College,” Victor told the St. Joseph, Missouri, News-Press at the time. “I will be visiting in upcoming weeks.”
In Kansas, the Olympics were already in sight
When Victor left, Gartenmayer predicted that Victor might one day be an Olympian for Grenada. A few months earlier, Victor did student research that also proved to be prophetic.
Victor presented research findings at Benedictine College’s Discovery Day on the dominance of the Caribbean in track and field.
“I conducted background research about track and field, Caribbean history, and genetic traits affecting sprinters,” he wrote. “As a result, I conclude that the Caribbean is likely to be a dominant force in track and field for many years.”
August Holly, a classmate of Victor’s, remembers the presentation. “He emphasized the culture of sports and how it’s used to get off the island,” he said. “He also talked about how those that do get off the island need to do a better job of coming back to fix things on the island.”
Victor is one of those who didn’t forget his homeland
Social media shows an outpouring of love from Grenada for their man on the medal podium. Necy Morain was one of many who said his win made them cry. “When he shouted ‘Grenada!’ I started getting emotional, other countries won’t understand why we love our country so much. Congratulations, Lindon Victor!”
“I feel extremely blessed to be able to travel the world and inspire the young generation,” Vicrtor said. “Who would ever thought a young man from La Femme, Grenada, would be here? I know it’s nothing but God’s grace.”
And today we celebrate...