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Red - Major Events
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Green - Quotes
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Purple - Other

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"Eltham became Liddell's substitue family for the next decade" (25)

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"The father who had never met his third child, born without him at her bedside." (4)

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"He si crouching on the start line, Which has been scratched out with a stick across the parched earth. His upper body is thrust slightly forward, and arms are bent at the elbow." (1)

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"Even when he is working the hardest, Liddell apoloizes for not working hard enough." (3)

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"He scrabbles for coal, which he carries in metal pails. He chops wood and tote bulk flour sacks . he cooks in the kitchens. he cleans he sweeps. He rapiars whatever needs fixing. he teaches science to the children and teenagers of the camp and coches them in sports too." (3)

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He cares more about other people than he cares about himself. 

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He cares more about other people than he cares about himself. 

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"Liddell is always doing something; and always doing it for others rather than for himself." (3)

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"Shorts were never above the knee. Spikes were always black. T-shirts ather than vests were worn." (22-23)

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"In the dust of defeat as well as the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best." ~Eric Liddell

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by Dancan Hamilton

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Scotland criticized him for this decision, calling him a traitor. He was put into the 400 meter race which happened later that week. He won the race and broke the world record at the time in 47.6 seconds despite the fact he was not expected to win it.

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“God…made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.” ~Eric Liddell

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Eric Liddell or known as the “Flying Scotsman” is a man who shocked the world by refusing to run the one hundred meters in the 1924 Paris Olympics, a race he was favored to win. He withdrew because the qualifying heat was on a Sunday, and he believed God didn’t want him to run on the Lord’s Day.

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Liddell didn't race on Sunday's because it was against his religous beliefs.

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Despite increasing tensions in the area, Liddell decides to stay in China and continue his missionary work while sending his wife and two children to live in Canada. When World War II started, he was interned in a Weihsien camp. It was later reported that Winston Churchill had arranged for his departure from the camp, but Liddell insisted a pregnant woman go in his place.

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New York Times
Newspaper Article

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Credit... The New York Times Archives

This is a digitized version of an article from The Times's print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.

Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.

OLYMPICS RECREATED IN ENGLISH WORK By MALCOLM MORAN

When David Puttnam, a producer, and Hugh Hudson, a director, came to her home in Edinburgh two years ago, Jennie Somerville could hardly believe that the two filmmakers were interested in the life of her brother after all these years. Not that her brother had ever been forgotten.

Every now and then, word would get back to her that another minister had just told a congregation how Eric Liddell, one of Scotland's great athletes, chose not to run in a race in the 1924 Olympics because it was scheduled to take place on the Christian Sabbath. ''It's so old,'' his sister said. ''It all happened such a long time ago.''

The filmmakers wanted to look at her collection of newspaper clippings and gather information for a film about her brother and Harold Abrahams, another participant in the 1924 Olympics. Abrahams was the only British runner to wan an Olympic 100-meter dash championship, and later became a leading sports correspondent, commentator and official with the Amateur

Athletic Association. The stories of the two athletes had become intertwined at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. Now, nearly six decades later, the filmmakers were interested in retelling those stories.

The result, ''Chariots of Fire,'' reveals the struggles within two athletes. Both are compelled to win, and both are motivated by highly individual moral stances. Eric Liddell is torn between the teachings of his religion and the exhilaration of competing against others. Harold Abrahaes, the son of a Li thuanian Jew, vows to use his athletic ability to fight the anti-Semitism he feels all around him. The Game s were simpler then, but an athlete's task was not. Liddell comes up against heavy political pressure to ignore his religious bel iefs. Abrahams suffers a crushing psychological defeat that instills a fear that haunts him up until his championship race.

''This is an expedient world,'' Mr. Puttnam said, explaining his interest in their stories. ''For people to behave in an unexpedient manner is extraordinary.''

Before the film became a hit in England and surprised everyone as the British entry at the Cannes Festival last spring, the industry shared the same doubts with Eric Liddell's sister - that too many years had passed for the story to be interesting for an audience in the 1980's. The concept could not be sold. ''Can you imagine going into a Hollywood mogul,'' said Colin Welland, who wrote the screenplay, ''and saying, 'I have this idea about two Olympic athletes from 1924...' ''

What is also extraordinary is that a story that was once considered too old, and too British for American audiences, has been chosen as the opening attraction at the New York Film Festival on Friday at Avery Fisher and Alice Tully halls. After this American premiere, the film will begin exclusive engagements in Los Angeles and Toronto on Friday, at Cinema I on Saturday, and in eight other North American cities on Oct. 23.

Mr. Puttnam said that everywhere he went, he was told ''no one would believe it. That a contemporary audience would not be able to believe that an Olympic athlete would train for an Olympic games, get there, and refuse to run. The guy's a jerk. The audience would laugh.''

That was only the beginning of the filmmakers' problems. They decided that to make the characters seem more believable, it was necessary to use unknown actors. The absence of stars, as well as the nature of the story, made fund raising even more difficult. And once the financing was completed, Hugh Hudson, who was directing his first feature-length film, had to strictly follow a shooting schedule because the modest budget left no margin for the unexpected.

Nevertheless, Mr. Hudson managed to create a celluloid Olympic world for $6 million. ''He was making a picture out of plywood and plastic and spare parts,'' Mr. Puttnam said. If one of the principal characters pulled a muscle, or if there had been rain on the day that the climactic race scenes were to be shot, there would not have been any climactic races.

''It didn't really matter,'' Mr. Hudson said. ''That's not what it was about. It was about two people, self-sacrifice, the human struggle.''

Mr. Puttnam first got the idea fpr ''Chariots of Fire'' as he read an Olympic record book. He invited Colin Welland, a playwright, to his home, and sho wed the playwright two piece s of paper - an old newspaper clipping about the two runners, and a page from a children's book that summarized their achieve ments and Eric Liddell'sdecision. Three months went by before Colin W elland decided that there was enough material for a film. He took out classified advertisements in London newspapers, asking a nyone with memories of the 1924 Olympians to share information for a film script. He found that many of the athletes were still alive an d was able to locate them through the network of private-school gr adautes.

Mr. Welland made several joyful discoveries. He learned that Harold Abrahams had been a Gilbert and Sullivan fanatic, which allowed him to place their work at several points throughout the film as incidental music.

And after seeing a classified advertisement, the son of Aubrey Montague, a 1924 Olympian who became a war correspondent and died in 1945, sent Mr. Welland copies of more than a dozen letters that his father had written home during preparations and the Games.

''I was absolutely amazed at the naivete of them,'' Mr. Welland said. ''A 21-year-old man, writing in terms that in today's world would be naive to the point of being ridiculous. It was rather like a 14-year-old writing.''

But it was precisely this romantic attitude toward sports - the idea that grown men would participate solely for the love of the sport and for the joy of the experience - that provided the filmmakers with a picture of the world as it was in 1924, and which they could use as a background for the telling of their story. Indeed, by the time Mr. Welland finished the script he had used the letters of Aubrey Montague as the basis of narration which introduced and connected many of the scenes.

Some alterations had to be made. A letter that was used at the start of the film begins, ''Darling Mummy.'' Mr. Puttnam explained: ''We can't have the first words of a film say, 'Darling Mummy.' '' The expression was modernized to ''Dear Mum.'' Still, many of the original words and phrases survive. ''No one could write them now,'' Mr. Puttnam said.

The first e ncouragement for the project came from Sandy Lieberson, a friend of t he producer who was then a vice president for European production at Twentieth Century-Fox. Mr. Lieberson had known Hugh Hudson for 15 years as a producer of documentaries and commericials. He had brough t Mr. Puttnam into the film industry in 1968. And he sawsomething in their curious idea about moral courage at the 1924 Olympics. But unfortunately, Mr. Lieberson was not able to convince Fox to go ahe ad with the project. Consequently, Mr. Puttnam tried elsewhere, an d encuntered rejection after rejection.

Then suddenly life changed for Sandy Lieberson. He briefly was made president of Fox, and he quickly concluded a deal to make the film for $3 million. More than four months later, another $3 million came from United Star Shipping, a conglomerate which had formed Allied Stars, a production company. ''Believe me,'' Mr. Puttnam said, ''you've been fairly well around the track before you get to Egyptian shipping lines.''

Early in the project, an important decision was made. The producer and director felt that if they were going to successfully create a world of another time, music would have to be an essential part of that world.

''I wanted somebody with whom I could work in a workshop,'' Mr. Hudson said. ''In most films, the music comes in late, often when the money's run out. It's stuck on to the end. It often works, but you don't really have much chance of changing or adapting.''

''With 60 musicians sitting there,'' Mr. Puttnam said, ''there's no time for adjusting.'' The filmmakers picked only one musician, Vangelis Papathanassiou, who worked with a synthesizer. He became the composer, arranger and performer. Working with the director as the film progressed, he could make changes in the tension of the music that helped shape the emotions of the film and the identities of the characters. His score has already been so successful that the soundtrack album is among the top five in British surveys.

Casting was necessarily more complicated. Instead of working strictly through a casting director to reduce the candidates to a workable number, the producer and director videotaped more than 100 interviews before the screen tests. Between the interviews and the screen tests, there was one other requirement. The actors had to run.

Tom McNab, a former athlete and Olympic coach, evaluated each actor. If he did not think the actor could handle the weeks of preparation or the strain of having to repeat race scenes, or if he felt the actor just did not look like a runner, that was it. ''His judgment was crucial,'' Mr. Puttnam said.

The idea of using unknowns was nothing new. It had worked successfully for Mr. Puttnam in ''Midnight Express,'' the best-known film he had produced since he entered the film business, and the same reasoning applied in this case. This script required great credibility; the characters had to s eem real.

Ian Charleson, an actor who has spent the last two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, had a calm, friendly manner that created the same feelings that people described when they talked about the real Eric Liddell. Ben Cross, who had appeared in Shakespearean roles with the Prospect Theater Company, stirred the filmmakers in a way that suggested the historical Harold Abrahams. Such reactions, the filmmakers believed, were far more important than the fact that both actors lacked screen credits.

Sir John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson were chosen to portray the Cambridge University deans who angered Harold Abrahams with their anti-Semitism. Ian Holm was named Best Supporting Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of Sam Mussabini, the controversial coach who prepared Abrahams for his Olympic race.

While the basic story, the depiction of running styles and the appearance of the Olympic stadium were all the result of careful research, several facts were changed for dramatic purposes. The real Jennie Somerville was not opposed to her brother's running career, although she is presented as an obstacle in the movie. Nor did she appear at the Olympic stadium, holding a red rose, as the film shows. Furthermore, her brother's dilemma about whether or not to race on the Sabbath did not dawn upon him during the trip to the Games - the schedules had been announced long in advance. Nevertheless, Mrs. Somerville, for one, does not think the changes in the story matter much.

''The film has no right to ever have been made,'' Mr. Puttnam said. ''And in a well-run industry, it never would have gotten through. It's one of the aberrations of the film industry that a film like 'Chariots' gets made.''

He had only one explanation. ''Eric,'' he said. Hugh Hudson, who was listening, raised his eyebrows, as if to say, Eric? Eric Liddell? ''He's kept his eye on the film from the first day,'' Mr. Puttnam said. ''Someone has. Why not Eric?''

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A STUDY OF AMBITION AND MORALITY TO OPEN THE FILM FESTIVAL 1924

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This is a digitized version of an article from The Times's print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.

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Of all the Olympic gold medals won over the years, few have been as well documented, chronicled and dramatised quite like Eric Liddell's.

Liddell was the devout Christian who refused to run his preferred 100m because one of the qualifying rounds fell on the Sabbath, and instead went on to secure a gold medal in the lung-bursting 400m.
Made famous by the Oscar-winning movie Chariots of Fire, the Scot's story is indeed a beautiful one at odds, however, with his running style.

Purists describe him as an ugly mover, with his head tilted skywards, his hands clawing through the air and his feet pattering at tremendous speeds.

Unlike the famed scene in Chariots of Fire, the schedule for the men's sprint was announced several months before the Paris Games and once Liddell decided he could not run, he trained instead for the 200m and 400m.

He won a bronze medal in the 200m, with team mate and 100m champion Harold Abrahams back in fifth, and was faced with the 400m qualifying round the following day.

Some had derided Liddell's decision not to run on a Sunday but it was reported that an American team member handed him a piece of paper shortly before the race. Written upon it were the words "Those who honour me I will honour."

Many felt Liddell's tactics in the final bordered on the suicidal.

The 400m was considered almost a middle distance race in those days and the terrific speeds Liddell set off at in the final surprised the field and watchers alike.

Surely his stamina would fade in the closing stages and allow the more fancied Americans and even team mate Guy Butler to come through?

Somehow Liddell retained his form and focus and while other competitors fell in the trail of the searing pace he set, he managed to cross the line in an Olympic record of 47.6 seconds which would stand until the Berlin Games 12 years later.
Liddell was hoisted aloft before cheering crowds on the streets of Edinburgh. He later returned to the country of his birth, China, to continue his work as a missionary.

He would die of a brain tumour in a Japanese internment camp during the final year of the Second World War.

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Liddell finds salvation with record-breaking 400m triumph - Olympic News

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Of all the Olympic gold medals won over the years, few have been as well documented, chronicled and dramatised quite like Eric Liddell's.

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News Article

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The story of Scottish athlete Eric Liddell - a devout Christian who refused to take part in an Olympic race because it took place on a Sunday - became famous after being told in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire. But almost a century later, why is the athlete regarded as a hero in China?

In the corner of a quiet Chinese courtyard, 5,000 miles from Scotland, stands a memorial in Isle of Mull granite.

The stone commemorates Eric Liddell - one of Scotland's greatest Olympians - who is buried nearby.

The stone was gifted by Edinburgh University after a Scottish engineer, Charles Walker, rediscovered his grave in the Chinese city of Weifang.

Liddell, the son of Christian missionaries, had been born in China in 1902 and lived there until he was five when he returned to Britain to be educated.

While he was at Edinburgh University, Liddell excelled at athletics and also played rugby for the Scottish national team - as well as being a noted evangelist preacher.

At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, he famously refused to run on a Sunday, ruling him out of the 100 metres race to which he was best suited.

Instead, he took part in the 400 metres race and, against the odds, still won a gold medal.

Soon after his Olympic triumph, Liddell finished his studies and returned to China to become a missionary.

As well as religious duties, he worked as a science and sports teacher at the Anglo/Chinese College in Tianjin.

After the Japanese invasion in 1937, Liddell carried on his missionary work even when it became dangerous to do so.

Liddell's wife and children left China for Canada in 1941 but he stayed to help in any way he could.

In 1943 he was interned at Weifang and he died of a brain tumour just months before the end of World War II, at the age of 43.

The prisoner-of-war camp which held about 2,000 Westerners is now a place of learning for 2,000 Chinese teenagers.

Every new pupil at the school is taught about the camp and Eric Liddell's achievements on and off the track

"This part of history is a great treasure for our school," said head teacher, Zhao Guixia.

"We can see the great value of humanity, especially in Eric Liddell's stories."

In the camp, Liddell was affectionately known as "Uncle Eric" because he spent most of his time teaching children, organising sports and helping others.

Because he was born in China, some people regard him as the first Chinese Olympic gold medallist.

"It is not a joke," said Wang Hao, Weifang's director of foreign affairs.

"We are very proud of Mr Eric Liddell. He is a hero".

A small internment camp museum features Liddell's story but the city has plans to pay a bigger tribute.

The building where he died is to be converted into a new museum with a reconstruction of Liddell's prison room and a waxwork of him inside.

It will be a remarkable honour for a Christian missionary in a Communist country.

Outside China, his greatest monument is the movie he inspired.

Chariots of Fire has been digitally remastered and re-released to cinemas to coincide with London 2012.

Eric Liddell: A Champion's Life will be broadcast on BBC Two Scotland at 2200 BST on Monday 23 July.

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Chariots of Fire's Liddell is Chinese 'hero'

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The story of Scottish athlete Eric Liddell - a devout Christian who refused to take part in an Olympic race because it took place on a Sunday - became famous after being told in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire. But almost a century later, why is the athlete regarded as a hero in China?

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Movie Trailer

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Chariots of Fire - New Trailer - In cinemas July 13

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In 1941 life in China was becoming so dangerous that the British Government advised British nationals to leave.   Florence and the children left for Canada.

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Eric Liddell sacrifices himself in order for his wife and two young daughters to survive and live a normal life.

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"The husband who booked boat passages for his pregnant wife and two infant daughters to enable them to escape the torment that he was enduring in Weihsien." (4)

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Living in China in the 1930s was potentially very dangerous and in 1937 Eric was sent to Siaochang where he joined his brother Rob.  He was now crossing the Japanese army lines.

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They had three daughters; Patricia, Heather and Maureen, who now all live in Canada.

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On his return to China, he married Florence Mackenzie (of Canadian missionary parentage) in Tientsin in 1934.

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After the Olympics and his graduation, he returned to North China where he served as a missionary from 1925 to 1943 – first in Tientsin (Tainjin) and later in Siaochang.   During his first furlough in 1932 he was ordained as a minister.

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"That such a gentle man died such an ungentle death here hardly seems possible." (24)

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The Oscar-winning movie is a true story about the life of Eric Liddell and fellow Brit Harold Abrahams, with actor Ian Charleson playing the part of Liddell. It stays pretty close to the source material with a couple of exceptions. One scene shows Liddell finding out about the 100m heats taking place on a Sunday just as he’s about to board the boat to France. This was added for dramatic effect. In real life, Liddell knew about the schedule for months in advance.

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"It subsequently ourgrew that site an moved into the more sapcious former Naval School at Mottingham, where it became known as Eltham College." (24)

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In 1920, Eric joined his brother Rob at Edinburgh University to read for a BSc in Pure Science.  He graduated after the Paris Olympiad in 1924.

Athletics and rugby played a large part in Eric’s University life.   He ran in the 100 yards and the 220 yards for Edinburgh University and later for Scotland.   He played rugby for Edinburgh University and in 1922 played in seven Scottish Internationals with A.L. Gracie.

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Back Row: Eric, Rob. Front Row: Jenny, Ernest, Mrs Liddell

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"The son of Scots missonaries who was born , shortly after the twentieth century began, in the port of Tientsin" (4)

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He and his older brother Rob move to a boarding school in London (Eltham)

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He and his older brother Rob move to a boarding school in London (Eltham)

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He was educated from 1908 to 1920 at Eltham College, Blackheath, a school for the sons of missionaries.  Eric, with his older brother Rob, were left at their boarding school while their parents and sister, Jenny, returned to China.

During the boys’ time at Eltham College, their parents, sister and new brother Ernest came home on furlough two or three times and were able to be together as a family – mainly living in Edinburgh.

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Eric Henry Liddell was born on the 16th of January, 1902, in Tientsin (Tianjin) North China, he was the second son of the Rev. & Mrs. James Dunlop Liddell who were missionaries with the London Mission Society.

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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was a British politician, army officer, and writer. He was the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, when he led Britain to victory in the Second World War.

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(Video link)

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(This video is copyright of the International Olympic Committee and used with their permission.)

For other videos about Eric Liddell please click here.

Recollections of Eric Liddell By Sir Arthur Marshall

The Cambridge University Athletics Club had an invitation from Pennsylvania to take a team of seven to the Pennsylvanian Games in March 1924, and I was one of the seven. Eric Liddell, the Scot from Edinburgh University, the 1923 AAA 100 yards Champion, had been personally invited and travelled with us. We stayed at the very comfortable Pennsylvanian Cricket Club. I am afraid none of, including Eric Liddell, managed to win an event at the Pennsylvanian Games.

We travelled back in a small slow ship of the American United Line called 'The Republic' - a ten day crossing. Eric Liddell entered in the fun and games on the boat, including the Fancy Dress Dance. Whilst he was very strict about religion. Eric and I became good friends and saw much of two American sisters, Freddie and Edith, who were travelling to 'do Europe', including the UK. They said they were going to be in Paris for the Olympic Games, and we said if we were there at the same time we hoped we could meet.

Harold Abrahams had set his whole life on winning the Olympic 100 Metres - it had become and obsession with him. Liddell's achievement in winning the 1923 AAA 100 Yards in the record time of 9 7/10 seconds was a devastating blow to Abrahams and shook him to the core. To date Abrahams had been a consistent 10 seconds 100 yards winner but had only slightly broken 10 seconds on one or two occasions. He knew in the Olympics he would be up against overseas competition, particularly from the Americans, but this new and very serious opposition out of the blue and on his doorstep had come at a time when Harold had established his 100 yards supremacy in the UK. To achieve level pegging with Eric Liddell's new record time, Harold had to improve his performance by two or three yards with the help of his trainer Sam Mussabini. It must have been a tremendous relief to Harold when it became known early in 1924 that Eric had decided to concentrate on the 400 metres and, because of his religious principles, would not compete in the Olympic 100 metres as first heats were always run on Sunday.

Eric had in turn become completely dedicated to winning an Olympic Medal within the restrictions of his faith. He was a famous Scottish international rugger player, and gave up his rugger to enable him to concentrate on his Olympic ambitions, which became very deep-rooted, and his work suffered. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal became a priority, second only to his religion, and the ambition to win this event became part of his religion.

The team travelled to Paris days before the Olympics started and had a big send-off at Victoria Station.

The silence at the start of the 100 metres and 400 metres was quite electric. Harold Abrahams won the 100 metres in a new Games record time.

In spite of all that has been said about Abrahams' 100 metres, the 400 metres in some way provided the greatest thrill of the meeting with the world record being broken by Eric Liddell three times in two days. It was thought that Liddell had some chance of winning, but nobody thought Liddell capable of the amazing performance he achieved in the final. As far as the crowd were concerned they were well informed about Liddell's dedication to his religion and his refusal to run in the first round of the 100 metres on the Sunday; they also knew of his determination to win this event. The occasion was enlivened by the support given to Liddell by the pipes and drums of the Cameron Highlanders.

The silence and pent-up excitement at the start of the race could be felt. Liddell went ahead at the start and maintained his pace throughout, finishing in what at the time was described as 'a most lion-hearted manner' winning by three yards from Fitch, an American. This was probably the greatest achievement of the VIIIth Olympiad, and superlatives were showered on Liddell by the press of the entire world. Liddell was short and not a pretty runner but just pounded along virtually at the same pace all the way, with a finish as if he was making a final dash for a try in a rugger match with an opponent bearing down on him and about to tackle from behind.

After Eric had won the 400 metres Gold Medal, Eric and I made contact with Freddie and Edith, the American sisters, and took them to a Tango Tea Dance in the Champs Elysees.
Footnote: Along with sacrificing his place in the 1924 Olympics 100m, Eric Liddell also gave up two other races in which Great Britain held high hopes of winning gold that year - the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m, whose finals also took place on a Sunday.

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(This video is copyright of the International Olympic Committee and used with their permission.) For other videos about Eric Liddell please click here. The Cambridge University Athletics Club had an invitation from Pennsylvania to take a team of seven to the Pennsylvanian Games in March 1924, and I was one of the seven.

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Five months from liberation, Liddell died of a brain tumor. Liddell had no idea regarding the graveness of his condition when he was writing to his wife on his final day, he thought he was having a nervous breakdown due to the stress of overwork.

Internment - putting a person in prison or other kinds of detention, generally in wartime. During World War II, the American government put Japanese-Americans in internment camps, fearing they might be loyal to Japan. Some of the people who were taken from their homes to stay at these camps had to deal with emotional and financial hardships once they got back.

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Born to Scottish missionary parents in China, he always insisted on following their footsteps. It was his calling. Regardless of how much success he tasted as an athlete (he was also capped seven times by the Scotland’s rugby national team) there was no way he was going to deviate from the path he set for himself. In all, Liddell’s sporting career really only lasted from when he joined Edinburgh University in 1920 until his retirement in 1925. It makes his success all the more remarkable.

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He is part of Scotland's Sports Hall of Fame

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He is part of Scotland's Sports Hall of Fame

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In the year of 2002, Scotland introduced a sports hall of fame. Initially 50 of the best sportsmen and women from the nation’s history were included. Liddell was not only included in the original 50, but, he was also named the most popular Scottish sports figure ever in the public nomination vote.

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Eric Liddell Winning Gold at the 1924 Olympics

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Eric Liddell Winning Gold at the 1924 Olympics

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During the summer of 1924, Paris was going through a sweltering heatwave. In the 10,000m final, 12 of the 39 competitors who started the race collapsed before they could finish. Considering Liddell’s uncompromising running style, this was hardly going to work in his favour. Not to be deterred, he ran the only race he knew, which was to cane it from the start and just keep going.

Situated in lane eight, he couldn’t see what his rivals were running, but they could sure see him as he sprinted out in front. Everyone expected him to wane on the second 200m, for he had surely expelled too much energy. Instead, he refused to drop his pace, winning the final as an underdog by a full six yards.

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Throughout his career, Eric Lidell faced many world-class opponents including Harold Abrahams.
(Picture below: Harold Abrahams)

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Raised in China (6)-> He and his older brother Rob move to a boarding school in London (Eltham)-> Lidell played rugby (Edinburgh University) -> (1921) at the age of 19, Lidell is selected to play on the Scottish national team -> (1921) spotted by running coach -> improves technique & strategy -> begins to win races across Scotland.
(Picture below: Edinburgh University)

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Facts:
Born: December 1, 1958 (age 61 years), Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Age: 61
Other books:
'The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus'(2019)
'The Footballer Who Could Fly'(2012)
'Going to the Match: The Passion for Football: The Perfect Gift for Football Fans'(2018)

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Hamilton, Duncan. For the Glory Eric Liddell's Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr. Penguin Pr, 2016.