Jane Rumball
Rower :: Canada Rowing
If you ask rower Jane Rumball what the three most important things in her life are, she doesn’t have to think long to answer: “God, my husband and my family,” Jane says. “Rowing and school take up much of my time, but if I didn’t have those three things my life would mean little.”
Perhaps those are different priorities than you would expect from the woman with a World Championship gold medal and medal potential for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Jane sees her family as a necessary support structure. “My family knew me before I was an athlete and they just want me to live a happy and fulfilling life,” she says. “My husband wants to see me pursue the things that God has gifted me with.”
God hasn’t always been a factor in Jane’s life, but in her first years at college her parents’ divorce, a failed relationship, and shattered rowing dreams all collided and she was left with a sense of desperation and emptiness. As she struggled with her own challenges she observed the life of a fellow rower who had been cut from the team yet seemed unfazed.
“It bugged me that she could have that peace and hope when it seemed beyond my grasp,” Jane says.
While Jane puzzled over what she saw in her former teammate, another friend helped bring it into perspective. “Someone from Athletes in Action explained to me that Jesus Christ had died for my sins, and that I could have real hope,” she says. “I chose to believe it and my life was dramatically altered. Later I found out that my teammate [who was cut from the team] was a Christian, and it all made sense.”
In the years following, Jane’s life has taken on a new sense of purpose. “Without that hope, without that knowledge that God loves me and has a plan for my life, I would have dropped out of meaningful living a long time ago,” she says.
As Jane Rumball races towards the 2008 Olympics, she does so without fear, knowing that the results of her competing are only a small portion of what is really important in her life.
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