Catapulting Over a Painful Past

On Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, we’re commemorating the beginning of the Olympics in Paris by featuring a recorded message by Kim Hamilton Anthony, a world-class gymnast who overcame a rough start in life.

Kim’s mother grew up in a four-room house with 13 of her relatives. There were a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of bills to pay. She became pregnant as a teenager. Confused and scared, she was told that a self-induced abortion was the only solution.

When those efforts ultimately failed, Kim was carried to term. But during her C-section, her head got caught beneath her mother’s pelvic bone. The doctor said he would have to break Kim’s neck to free her, a maneuver that would cost Kim her life. At the last minute, another doctor rushed in and saved both Kim and her mother.

Despite those and many other setbacks, Kim dreamed of being a gymnast, an impossible idea for, as she puts it, “a little black girl in the ‘hood.” Not a day went by that somebody didn’t communicate in some way that she was wasting her time.

Then Kim discovered the key to her life: her value as a person was not rooted in athletic accomplishments but in God’s love for her. That truth gave Kim the strength of character she needed to persevere.

She made history by becoming the first African-American female to be recruited and receive a scholarship to compete on UCLA’s gymnastics team, one of the best teams in the country at the time. There she became a six-time All-American and four-time national champion.

Listen to Kim’s full message on your local radio station, online, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or listen on our free phone app.

Kim’s story reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s analogy in 1 Corinthians 9:24, where he says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” Run to get the one prize that matters.

Kim Anthony is on staff with Athletes in Action and served as a chaplain for the wives of Miami Dolphin football players for 10 years.

She’s also written a book about her life called, Unfavorable Odds: The Story of an Unlikely Champion. For a gift of any amount, we’ll send you a copy of as our way of saying thank you for helping support our efforts. (Click here for details.)