‘He walks with me not just when I race, but in every event of life’

Former Olympic race walker and Salvation Army church member Ian Richards shares how faith and community have helped him overcome big hurdles in life.

Two years after I competed as a race walker in the 1980 Olympics, I decided to retire from the sport in order to focus on my family. And two years after that, my father-in-law died. My wife, Elaine, wanted to mark her first Christmas without him by going to church, so went to a service at The Salvation Army in Maidenhead. I was surprised that I enjoyed it. Elaine and I said: ‘Let’s go back again next week.’ And we did. We kept going back.

I started to see that people at the Army were so happy and content with life – and I didn’t understand it. I had a perfect family, a good job and a nice house, but I didn’t feel as fulfilled as they did.

Eventually, I came to recognise that they were happy because they knew Jesus. And that’s when I decided to give my life to Jesus too.

Two years later, Elaine collapsed with a massive brain haemorrhage and died in hospital. I was in my 30s, left with two young children. But the support I received from people at the Army was wonderful. God made himself known to me through their kindness. Yes, I was grieving, but I couldn’t have been in a better place.

As the years passed, I continued to find fulfilment in my faith. I started helping at Salvation Army events across the UK, such as children’s camps and sport weeks, where young people could have fun while also learning about God. I had thought that my sporting days were all behind me – but they weren’t.

In the summer of 2024, I entered the World Masters athletics championships in Sweden. Competing in the 75-79 age category, I won two gold medals for race walking in the 5,000m and the 10km. I repeated that in the European championships in 2025, and by the summer of 2026, I had won a further four European championships for races ranging from 3000m to 20km.

I believe that whatever a person’s age, the human body is a fantastic piece of machinery created by God. In the film Chariots of Fire, the athlete Eric Liddell says that God ‘made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.’ I believe that when I walk fast, God is on my shoulder, pushing me on. He walks with me not just when I race, but in every event of life – including the traumas. When my second wife died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage, he was there to see me through.

Whatever hurdles we may face, the Bible tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (see Psalm 139:14) – and we need to be thankful for that.