Brazilian Skateboarder Rayssa Leal Skirts Olympic Rules, Signs Bible Verse Before Winning Bronze

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The Paris Olympics would rather athletes competing in the Games not show any sort of religious expression, and certainly not a Christian one, given that the Opening Ceremony featured drag performers mocking the Last Supper. Brazilian skateboarder Rayssa Leal ignored organizer's wishes and quoted a Bible verse after earning a bronze medal.

Leal, who is only 16 years old, proudly expressed her Christian faith by signing John 14:6 when the camera panned to her as she was being introduced on the broadcast. "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,'" the verse reads.

According to the video shared by Dom Lucre, the young Brazilian was allegedly told she could not express anything of her faith, but she elected to do so anyway.

French Olympians are barred from displaying religious symbols while representing the country due to France's secularism principle, although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) insists that athletes can represent themselves, their faith, and their country.

Leal thanked God after earning the second-highest score of the final competition, which pushed her from fifth to third and onto the podium.

"When I was very young, I dreamed of becoming a skateboard athlete," Leal told reporters. "And here I am, with a second Olympic medal from the games. Once again, thank God I won a medal. I'm very happy to be here."

Leal became Brazil's youngest ever Olympian back in 2021 when at just 13 she won silver in the skateboarding street competition in Tokyo.

The 2024 Summer Olympics got off to a very strange, and disrespectful start, with the Opening Ceremony clearly mocking Leonardo da Vinci's ‘The Last Supper’ painting. An Olympic official predictably put a spin on the entire situation and did not offer any sort of real apology.

"Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense we are really sorry," Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps said during a press conference.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.