John Stephen Akwhwari competed in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He ran the marathon representing his country, Tanzania. During the race, Akwhwari fell cutting his knee badly. He also injured his head and was trampled on before he could get up. Somehow, he did get up. Running in pain Akhwari never gave up. He finished the 26 mile race. He arrived in the stadium (where the finish line was), long after the last competitors did. There were a few fans left in the stadium who began to cheer him on. No doubt, they were inspired by his persistence to finish the race. The response of the crowd was so overwhelming, it was almost frightening. They encouraged Akhwari through the last few metres of his race with a thundering ovation that far exceeded the one given the man who, hours earlier, had come in first. When Akhwari crossed the finish line, he collapsed into the arms of the medical personnel who immediately whisked him off to the hospital.

The next day, Akhwari appeared before sports journalists to field their questions about his extraordinary feat. The first question was the one any of us would have asked, "Why, after sustaining the kinds of injuries you did, would you ever get up and proceed to the finish line, when there was no way you could possibly place in the race?" John Stephen Akhwari said this: "My country did not send me over 11,000 kilometres to start a race. They sent me over 11,000 kilometres to finish one."

One person said that Akhwari's race is the greatest last place finish in Olympic history. In our quest for spiritual gold let's remember the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Click the link below and see a short video of John Stephen Akhwari's great finish.

Pastor Tim