TWO weeks before leaving to compete in the Olympics, American archer Brady Ellison waded into a pool not far from the Olympic Training Centre in Chula Vista, California, and was baptised as a Christian.

In the water with him was Kisik Lee, the US archery team's head coach and a Christian who has become a spiritual guide for Ellison, 19, and the larger group of athletes who train and live full-time at the centre.

During the Olympics, Lee and at least three of the five US archers competing in Beijing have met each day to sing hymns and read from the Bible, and to attend church in the chapel at the Olympic Village.