Two Singaporean men flailed desperately in the water, 20 miles from land. One of them clung to the side of their capsized dinghy. The other had drifted 65 feet from the boat due to winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour. With each wave that crashed mercilessly over them, their hope for survival dwindled.

Lawrence Lemieux grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Throughout childhood, he and his five older brothers enthusiastically sailed on the Wabamun Lake near their family home. He began sailing competitively as a 15-year-old in 1970.

Years of success led to an appearance at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Lemieux competed in the fifth of seven Finn class heats off the coast of Busan. About halfway through the race, he was comfortably positioned in second place out of 32 contestants. Had he stayed on track, he was poised for a spot in the medal round.

That’s when Lemieux saw two men drowning on the nearby 470-class course. After devoting his entire life to achieving greatness as a sailor, Lemieux had a tough decision to make. He didn’t hesitate.

“The first rule of sailing is, you see someone in trouble, you help him,” Lemieux later told the Edmonton Journal. “My thought process was: Do they really need help because a lot of times you are able to save yourself. But I couldn’t understand if they were saying yes or no. I just had to go. If I went to them and they didn’t really need help, c’est la vie. If I didn’t go, it would be something you would regret for the rest of your life. But I wasn’t thinking that at the time. It’s only now, in retrospect, you think that way. At the time, you just go.”

Lemieux first dragged aboard the man who had drifted far from his dinghy. After picking up the second man, Lemieux braced his boat against the wind until a Korean Navy vessel took the two injured men to shore. Then, he finished the race in 21st place—still ahead of 11 other competitors who hadn’t stopped to save any lives.

In the same year that track star and fellow Canadian Ben Johnson disgraced the Olympic spirit by taking anabolic steroids and forfeiting his gold medal, International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship to Lemieux. “By your sportsmanship, self-sacrifice and courage, you embody all that is right with the Olympic ideal,” he said.

Lemieux had sacrificed his entire life to become a world-class, Olympic record-breaking sailor, but on his sport’s biggest stage, he prioritized the lives of two men he didn’t know. He would never again compete in the Olympics.

But Lawrence Lemieux gained so much more than he lost that day. He won the Rolex Sailor of the Year Award for 1988—likely in part because of his heroic rescue. In 1991, he won all seven races in the Pan-American Games to take the gold medal home from Cuba, and subsequently received the Skippers’ Plan Male Athlete of the Year Award.

Most importantly, athletes and fans all over the world still see Lemieux’s actions during his 21st-place finish in Seoul as the gold standard of sportsmanship.

“You spend your life working really hard internationally and you get very few accolades,” he said in a 2012 interview. “So that’s the ironic thing; 25 years after this rescue, we’re still talking about it.”

The Good Samaritan

We can all strive to emulate Lawrence Lemieux’s high standard of sportsmanship, but his example transcends sports. Jesus Christ gave a similar analogy when explaining the love we should have for all mankind.

“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead” (Luke 10:30). The Singaporean men were “dead in the water” before Lemieux saved them.

“And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side” (verses 31-32). How many other athletes would have thrown away a shot at Olympic glory like Lemieux did? The waves crested high that day—high enough to obscure the two Singaporeans from sight. Lemieux could have justified looking the other way in his pursuit of gold.

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” (verses 33-36).

Lawrence Lemieux demonstrated a depth of love rarely seen in this world. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The phrase “lay down his life” here doesn’t necessarily mean dying; it can mean giving everything you have in terms of time, energy, and effort—sacrificing all you have ever worked for to serve someone else. Lemieux didn’t sacrifice his Olympic dream for “his friends.” He did it for two men he had never even met!

Your Part

The example of Lawrence Lemieux puts most of us to shame. It can be easy to get caught up in day-to-day selfish pursuits and forget about the existence of people outside our own little sphere. It is our individual responsibility to do whatever it takes to make a positive impact on our brothers and sisters in God’s Church and, by extension, those in the world who will one day know God’s truth.

Teens: Reach out to your peers who seem shy and lonely. Even small actions such as a friendly smile or a thoughtful compliment can make a huge impact. Try this, and you may develop a lifelong friendship or two.

Develop a mindset of perpetual service. Instead of only hanging around the teen group, branch out to singles, married couples, the ministry and the elderly. Take the time to track down the home addresses of some of the shut-in members. Since they have little-to-no contact with their brethren, your correspondence would be most welcome. Options for serving others are literally endless.

Your good deeds may seem inconsequential, but rest assured that you are making an impact. When I was younger, my father put God’s give way of life into action every evening, coming home from an exhausting day of work to play catch with me in the backyard. Following many hours of ministerial counseling sessions and dealing with problems I cannot imagine, surely he would have appreciated some time to himself instead. Fifteen years later, this small act of selflessness is ingrained in my memory.

For most of us, the opportunity to rescue two drowning men will never present itself. However, we all have an opportunity each day to serve and sacrifice for others. We should all strive to put the needs of others ahead of our own—just like Lawrence Lemieux.