Most teens would jump at the chance to represent their country in the Olympics. Some would be satisfied to take the silver or bronze. But shortly after her 18th birthday, Kelly Clark hit the slopes and brought home the gold at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
It was an exciting moment, for sure, but perhaps not as glorious as many teens would imagine.
“It was a great feeling to be on top of my sport,” Kelly says. “But I didn’t know I was missing the most important thing in life: Jesus.”
Trading Places
Kelly wasn’t raised in a Christian home, and she never went to church. She grew up in the mountainous region of Vermont surrounded by a family of novice skiers. At 2, she slipped into her first pair of skis, by 4 she was on a ski team and by 7 she was begging her parents for a snowboard for Christmas. Her dad dreamed of the day Kelly would be a pro skier.
“I was a great skier. I even won most competitions, but no matter how hard my dad pushed me, boarding was my real passion,” Kelly says. “Dad was a little disappointed at first, especially since I fell off my board more than I was on it.”
That turned around in her early teens, when Kelly started placing in all her competitions. By 16, she made the top three at a junior snowboarding camp and was asked to join the U.S. snowboarding team.
“It was amazing. I didn’t even know they had scouts from the U.S. team looking for new recruits,” she says. “I was pumped!”
Kelly won a silver medal at the 2000 Goodwill Games, and she also won the World Junior Championship half-pipe competition. Kelly then went on to win the U.S. half-pipe and snowboardcross championship in 2001. A year later, she remained undefeated and brought home Olympic gold.
Avalanche
Kelly appeared to have it all: the spotlight, the best sponsors, tons of trophies and more money than she knew what to do with. Yet she felt empty inside.
“I thought something must be wrong with me,” Kelly says. “I was at the top of my game. I had everything that the world had to offer. But I didn't feel happy.”
For two years, Kelly played her role well. She poured herself into her sport, won more competitions and hung out with other big names on the weekends.
“I felt OK as long as I was with everyone else, partying,” she says. “But later, alone on the plane or in another hotel room, the emptiness grew.”
On the sidelines, Kelly’s life was spiraling downward. She had distanced herself from family and isolated herself—the real her, who was hurting and crumbling inside—from friends. She had no one to help her face the huge emotional mountain in her life.
“I didn’t want to live anymore,” Kelly says, “at least not like I was.”
180
Kelly learned about Jesus from some fellow skiers, and she picked up the Bible.
“Nothing made sense at first,” she says. “I wondered how God could ever love someone as pitiful as me.”
But God wouldn’t leave Kelly alone. He put lots of Christians around her and began showing her a love she had always longed for.
“When I stepped into church that day, it was better than winning the gold. Everyone wrapped their arms around me,” Kelly says. “But the greatest rush of my life was when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.”
Painful Gain
Kelly has seen her fair share of injuries. She’s fallen so many times she can’t count them all. She’s experienced concussions, a bruised femur, broken bones and multiple surgeries. Recovery from one knee surgery lasted six months.
“It’s funny,” Kelly says. “I’ve been hurt more in the past two years than any other time.”
People might think that’s odd. Kelly gave her life to Christ two years ago, so why isn’t God protecting her? And why did she almost miss the 2006 Olympics because of injury and sickness?
“I can't explain it,” Kelly says. “I know God’s with me, and I tell Him to take my sport and use it any way He chooses. Sometimes I do great. Sometimes I fall. But I’ve learned no matter what happens, He’s got my back.”
While preparing for the 2006 Olympics, Kelly fell at practice and suffered a severe concussion. Then she broke both arms within five days in the first two competitions. Although battling migraines, stiffness, pain, swelling and a year-old femur injury that hadn’t healed properly, she persisted. Her perseverance paid off in the final three rounds when she took first and qualified for the Olympics.
“God never ceases to amaze me. Just when I think I’m not going to make it, He does it again!” Kelly says. “That’s when the real miracle shows up. It’s not how He protects me, but how He uses me in spite of my injuries, imperfections and failures.”
Even though Kelly placed fourth at the 2006 Olympics, she didn’t let it get to her. “I have no regrets,” she told the live news crew. “I have Jesus. It’s more joyful knowing Him than all the snowboarding stuff in the world.”
Focused
Kelly’s excited about what God has in store for her future, on and off the snow. Currently she’s on the prayer team at her church in Mammoth, Calif., the same place she was saved nearly three years ago. She also leads a class for new believers.
“It’s so exciting to be part of this growing ministry,” she says. “But I want to do even more.”
Although she doesn’t know what her future will hold, Kelly’s holding nothing back.
“I used to hate my life. Now I love it,” she says. “I want the whole world to know what Jesus did for me.
“I want to make it big for God. Yeah, it would be sweet to get another shot at the gold, but it’s even sweeter to win souls,” Kelly says. “So I never look too far ahead. I just take it one day at a time.” 
