SportGoMag is for sportspersons around the world to tell their life, sport and faith in Christ-centered stories.
Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of AIA
When you move to high-performance sports, winning is so important and losing is so bad. It makes a huge difference in your life. To give you an example, at the British Grand Prix in 1977, I was two seconds slower than James Hunt, that put me out of the race. Between James Hunt and me, there were 26 cars and only 26 cars were allowed to take part in the race. I was 27th. The paycheck of James Hunt compared to mine was ridiculous. He was earning millions, I was earning zero. My salary was based on my performance and my performance was disastrous. Winning was Heaven, losing was Hell at that stage.
The definition of victory did not change for me throughout my career, but it did change after. Today I can look back and see things from a different point of view. Today, for me, victory is to accomplish God’s purpose for my life. It’s no longer about being a champion to prove myself to others. Winning is when I make His will come true in my life, and losing is when I fall short of God’s expectations in relation to my life.
— Alex Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of AIA
Jan 22, 2020
When you move to high-performance sports, winning is so important and losing is so bad. It makes a huge difference in your life. To give you an example, at the British Grand Prix in 1977, I was two seconds slower than James Hunt, that put me out of the race. Between James Hunt and me, there were 26 cars and only 26 cars were allowed to take part in the race. I was 27th. The paycheck of James Hunt compared to mine was ridiculous. He was earning millions, I was earning zero. My salary was based on my performance and my performance was disastrous. Winning was Heaven, losing was Hell at that stage.
The definition of victory did not change for me throughout my career, but it did change after. Today I can look back and see things from a different point of view. Today, for me, victory is to accomplish God’s purpose for my life. It’s no longer about being a champion to prove myself to others. Winning is when I make His will come true in my life, and losing is when I fall short of God’s expectations in relation to my life.
— Alex Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
