By Lisa Palmisano
LEONARDTOWN, Md. (BP)–How many Olympic gold medalists can you name? Possibly recent champions Apolo Anton Ohno, Mary Lou Retton, Michael Jordan or Mia Hamm come to mind.
One name you may not recall — unless you are a wrestling fan — is that of John Peterson. He won the only U.S. wrestling gold at the ’76 games in Montreal. Peterson also won a silver medal in the ’72 games.
“It occurred to me in the wrestling world that people would forget my name,” Peterson said. “I didn’t remember anyone who wanted my autograph until after the Olympics. I thought it rather strange that people wanted me to write my name down for them.”
Winning Olympic gold and silver did make people want Peterson’s autograph. Peterson not only wrote his name down for many fans, but he also included 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 with every autograph. One inscription is still having an impact more than 30 years later.
Kyle Rambo was a 15-year-old from Montgomery County, Penn., when he received an autograph from Peterson during a weeklong wrestling camp. As soon as he got home, he looked up the verses in his 1970s-era Bible version called “The Way.”
“I thought it was cool that the Bible actually contained something that seemed relevant to my life — a reference to sports,” Rambo said.
Rambo had looked in his Bible periodically, searching for answers to life’s problems. After reading 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, he realized that the Bible actually had relevance to his life.
The passage says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
“Rather than seeing the Bible simply as a book full of dusty old folk stories, I started to see that it actually could answer the questions I had,” Rambo said.
As a teenager of the 1970s, Rambo struggled with the notion that it was “uncool” to be a Christian. One more chance meeting with Peterson changed that notion.
“I was nervous and puzzled to get called out of class by the principal and was thinking I was in trouble. Instead, it was a pleasant surprise to see John Peterson standing in the hall of my school,” Rambo recounted.
His principal, Leroy Hallman, had arranged for Peterson to meet Rambo, who was a senior, an outstanding wrestler and a good student. Peterson was visiting Spring-Ford High School because his wife, Nancy, was an alumnus and Hallman was a big influence on her life.
“I thought it was so cool to spend time one-on-one with an Olympic champion,” Rambo said. “It made me feel special that someone so famous could have any interest in a kid like me.”
Peterson’s visit made a spiritual impact on Rambo’s life that afternoon. He left that day with a deep respect for his role model and a desire to emulate him.
“Kyle had told me he was surprised that I would talk about more than my wrestling experience,” Peterson said. “He was encouraged that I would talk about the Lord Jesus with him.”
Rambo admits, “My own spirituality was something I was always afraid to discuss with my own friends, much less virtual strangers.”
“John’s public relationship with God didn’t hold him back,” Rambo said. “It was probably one of the reasons for his great success.”
Rambo went on to experience his own level of wrestling success, competing on the collegiate level at North Carolina State University. While at NCSU, Rambo attended a lecture series sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ. Some members of Athletes in Action, the athletic ministry of Campus Crusade, hosted one of the lectures. AIA is the ministry that Peterson worked for and wrestled for when Rambo met him.
“My involvement with CCC helped take me from simply a ‘churchgoer’ to someone who had a true, personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” Rambo said.
It was a relationship that grew from a few Bible verses and has remained strong to this day. Those 1 Corinthians verses are also what reunited Rambo with Peterson almost 30 years after his surprise school visit.
“One Sunday as my pastor, Stan Cardwell, read 1 Corinthians 9, it struck me as familiar,” Rambo said.
He sat in his seat and pondered it. Then, he remembered that those were the same verses Peterson wrote on his autograph at wrestling camp. Rambo began to think about Peterson and the impact he had on his life.
He decided to search for Peterson and discovered that the Olympian still worked for AIA. He sent Peterson an e-mail titled “I’m sure you don’t remember me.”
Peterson sent a quick response saying, “Believe it or not, I do remember meeting you.” He also told Rambo to call him.
That conversation led to Peterson visiting Rambo’s home in St. Mary’s County, Md., to help run a wrestling camp.. Once again, Rambo watched Peterson share his faith with almost 50 young men.
“I shared about my relationship with Christ, showed the kids my Olympic gold and silver medals and quoted the 1 Corinthians verses,” Peterson said. “I challenged them to use their wrestling talents to honor the Lord Jesus.”
Rambo may not have any Olympic medals to share, but he is living out the verses in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 by coaching and influencing young wrestlers as Peterson did with him.
He also started a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. He collects used soccer shoes, reconditions them and sells them inscribed with a Scripture verse, Matthew 25:40. He donates all the proceeds to Special Olympics and also has conversations about his faith as he sells the shoes.
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Lisa Palmisano writes for Athletes in Action, online at www.aia.com.
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