Friday, February 17, 2006
Another Olympian of Faith
CNS picks up the faith angle on another Catholic Olympian, Carolyn Treacy of
the women's biathlon (skiiing plus shooting). CNS reports:
Carolyn Treacy, the so-called underdog biathlete, found the needed calm and inner strength to make the XX Olympic Winter Games by praying a novena to the Infant of Prague. Facing top-notch athletes and harsh, icy weather at the mid-January Olympic trials in Fort Kent, Maine, the 23-year-old native of Duluth, Minn., recited the spiritual prayer "every day, once an hour for nine hours in a row," she told Catholic News Service Feb. 13.
Treacy, who proudly noted she was born on the feast of St. Joseph, March 19, said her Catholic faith helps her commit so much time and energy training to become an Olympian.
"Sometimes I struggled doing the biathlon because I thought of other people with no money and no opportunity to pursue a sport," she said.
The "underdog" on her life plans after the Games: "I've been in biathlon for eight years and this has been my final goal. I'll finish school this year and I'm getting married this summer, so I knew there wouldn't be many more chances."
