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They are really good friends. They consider themselves accountability partners in their faith. And even though they compete against each other have also been able to lift each other up in prayer and Bible study.

Shane Hamman can lift more than 1,000 pounds.

He was in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He finished 10th in 2000 in the 105 kg, which is a super-heavy weight class. He's another one who says that weightlifting is a tool to give him an opportunity to speak out for Christ.

Do you know Brian Clay from Azusa Pacific?

He's in the decathlon. Azusa has put several people in the Olympics in the past, including Dave Johnson, who was a big decathlon star. You remember the "Dave and Dan" thing from years ago. During the trials, Brian Clay had three personal bests in the pole vault, the javelin, and the discus, which helped him get his person best in points. He had 660 points, which was enough to get him in.

Editor's note: Another Christian Olympian, Allyson Felix, qualified for the U.S. team by winning the women's 200 at the U.S. Track and Field Trials last month. You can read more about Allyson, the world's fastest teenager, in Today's Christian magazine.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Books & Culture recently reviewed two books about the ancient Olympic games and its modern counterpart.

More Christian athletes in other sports can be found on Sports Spectrum's website.

More Olympic articles are available on our Olympics page.

The U.S. Olympic Team has information on other athletes and events.

The Athen's 2004 Olympic Games has all sorts of information about this year's events.

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August (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48