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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Adam Navis.
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And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Dmitriy Salita is a Jew. He eats kosher food, food that has been prepared by the rules of Jewish law. He studies the Hebrew Bible. In these ways he is like millions of other Jews. But Dmitriy is unlike most other Jews in one important way. He is a professional boxer, a sports fighter, and this makes his life a little more complex.
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Today's Spotlight is on athletes who must balance their sports with their religious belief. Athletes of many major religions struggle with this. Some religions restrict diet. Some special religious days restrict when athletes can train. But some athletes have found a way to balance their jobs with their religious beliefs.
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Dmitriy Salita does not fight on the Sabbath, the day of each week that Jews celebrate as holy. Fights must be changed to another day. When he cannot be home to prepare his own food, his teacher will prepare the kosher food. And it does not anger him when people do not like him because he is a Jew. He has many Jewish supporters. In an interview with the Jewish College Organization, Hillel, he says:
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"People like what I represent in the boxing ring. People are not used to seeing a Jewish person being something other than a doctor or lawyer. The great thing about sports is that it goes past race and religion. I just have to keep winning and proving myself."
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As a Jewish boxer, there were some things that Dmitriy Salita was not permitted to eat. But for Muslim runner, Khalid Khannouchi the problem was not being permitted to eat anything all day long. Khalid Khannouchi celebrates the Muslim holiday of Ramadan the same way as other Muslims do. He does not eat or drink from sun rise to sun set. But unlike other Muslims, Khannouchi is one the best marathon runners in the world.
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Muslim athletes have three choices during Ramadan. If they do not eat or drink, they can choose to stop exercising during Ramadan. If they choose this, they will lose strength. Or, they can choose not to eat and continue training. With this choice, they may experience headaches or injury. Finally, they can choose to eat and drink and continue to run. This means not celebrating Ramadan in the traditional way - a difficult choice for religious people.
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Khannouchi decided to celebrate Ramadan and keep running. This means that Khannouchi needed to make some changes to his training. He could only eat or drink after dark. And he would need time for his food to settle. So, his training began during the middle of the night, sometimes as late as two in the morning.
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He needed to change where he ran as well. His normal running path was fine during the day, but it was dark at night. He had to find a place to run that had lights and was safe. He talked about this training with Runner's World writer Amby Burfoot:
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"It was very difficult. It was a long four weeks. I have never had to do that before in my training. I would not say I am a very religious person. But I am a person who respects his religion. I love running, but it's not as important as my religion. My religion has helped me in my running. It teaches me to not be proud. It teaches me to be understanding with other people."
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For Christian runner Ryan Hall, there was a different concern. Almost all the important races happened on Sunday. Sunday is the Christian holy day. Hall is able to listen to the Bible during a run, but he does not like to miss attending Sunday church. He began to study the life of Brother Lawrence, a Christian who taught people to connect worship and work. Hall discussed what he learned with Runner's World Magazine writer Michael Perry:
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"Brother Lawrence taught others to do everything for God. He taught that we should stay connected to God through the day in prayer. Instead of studying the Bible at some appointed hour, I try to make worship a natural part of my day. So I pray when I am out running. Or washing dishes. Sometimes my mind goes to other thoughts. When that happens I try to return to my prayer. Even though I am not very good at it yet."
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Athletes of many faiths believe that there are advantages to the way they live. Hakeem Olajuwon is a retired professional basketball player and a Muslim. He told New York Times writer Neil MacFarquhar,
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"When your stomach is full, you get tired and slow. You get a lot of energy from Ramadan. Everything is clear. When your stomach is empty, you get a lot of oxygen. You can breathe. It is a special form of energy that you cannot get any other way. I remember making at least eight more points each game during Ramadan."
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In 2002, Dmitriy Salita explained, to Washington Post writer Alona Wartofsky, how Judaism helps him be a better athlete.
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"They say boxing is a lonely sport. When you get in the boxing ring, you are on your own for three minutes. Boxing helped me become more religious because every time before I fight, I ask God for help. Even in training. You are all alone. The only one that can help you is God."
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And even though Ryan Hall is not able to worship where and when he wants to, he finds other ways to build his faith. Hall works for Team World Vision. Team World Vision is an organization that raises money through running. The money is used to help communities around the world become independent.
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"It is not my goal to make anyone a Christian. I think that Jesus invited people to hear what he had to say. I think he told people what was in his heart. I want to be honest with people. If I did not share why I run or what gets me through hard times in races, I would be cheating them. But I am not going to force someone to hear something they are not interested in hearing."
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