Ashlee Bond has been on a truly captivating journey. The U.S.-born show-jumping rider is the first Christian athlete to represent Israel at the Olympics. Bond participated in the Tokyo Games in 2021 and was in Paris this summer to once again compete in the Olympic games.
Dealing with Terror Threats
There were some significant considerations for Bond when competing in the 2024 Olympic Games, though, especially after Hamas’ Oct. 7, terror attack and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East—events that led to increased security concerns for Israeli Olympians.
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“It was definitely nerve-racking, to say the least,” she said. “I pride myself on being a pretty tough person, someone who isn’t shaken too easily.”
But Bond said she and others received a threatening email before the 2024 Olympics that left her stunned.
“[It] singled me out personally, along with … I believe 16 other Israeli athletes from a terrorist organization threatening our lives and saying … ‘If you fly over, you drive over, we run the airports, we run the streets, we will have blood run in the streets like Munich in ’72,’” she said, referencing the 1972 terror attack that claimed the lives of 11 Israeli Olympians. “That was a little concerning.”
Bond said she coped with associated fears by leaning into Jesus, focusing on her calling and not any of the worries that the email sparked in her heart. The threats were especially concerning because the emails were delivered and addressed to each individual’s personal email—and that’s not all.
“There were a couple Israeli athletes that got their obituaries sent to them,” she said.
Biggest 2024 Controversy
The Olympian also addressed the biggest controversy surrounding the 2024 Olympic Games: the drag-queen-dominated opening ceremony widely seen as mocking the Last Supper.
“For me, it’s really simple … this world is … sinful, and it’s a fallen world, and you don’t have control over the media,” Bond said. “And the media is, for the most part, very demonic, and they want to push their agenda, and the devil is trying to get as many souls as he can.”
She continued, “I don’t support the opening ceremony and what they did by any means, but I can still be a participant as an Olympic athlete and just … spread the Word of the Lord and be that light.”
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Reprinted with permission from cbn.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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