Eric Henry Liddell, like many Scottish sporting heroes, was not actually born in the country he was to represent . Liddell was born on the 16 January 1902 in the city of Tientsin (now Tianjin) in north-eastern China, the son of missionary parents working for the Church of Scotland.
In fact, Liddell was not to find himself living in Scotland unit he entered Edinburgh University in 1920, after 12 years at Eltham College boarding School in Surrey, a school specifically for the children of missionaries. His headmaster at Eltham was to remember Liddell as a boy "entirely without vanity".
When Eric joined his elder brother Rob at Edinburgh it was to study a BSc in Pure Science.
At first, Liddell seemed destined for a career with the oval ball, displaying enough talent at wing three quarter to win seven international caps between 1921 and 1923. However, he chose to concentrate on running.
In the early 1920s, Liddell established himself as one of the country's top runners, regularly scooping not only the Scottish 100- and 220-yard sprinting tiles, but also in the 440-yard contests.
Liddell was also successful in British competition, winning the shorter sprint distances at the Triangular International Contests in 1921, 1922 and 1923, this competition showcasing athletes from Scotland, England and Ireland. A superb 100m runner his British record for the 100yds set in 1923 lasted 35 years.
In the 1924 Olympics, a devout Christian he refused to run on Sunday and as the 100m heats were scheduled for this day,he decided to enter only the 200m and 400m. He won bronze at the shorter distance,and in the 400m he was drawn in the outside lane but set a blistering pace to win the 400m in a new Olympic record 47.6.
He returned to China in 1925 to continue the missionary work. Interned by the Japanese he died in a prison camp in 1945
Without doubt one of Scotland's greatest sporting heroes, Eric Liddell, owes much of his fame more to a race he didn't run than any he did. However, the uplifting manner in which he lived his life, as portrayed in the film Chariots of Fire, truly marks him as one of the greatest of Scottish heroes
Accolades
1924 - Won gold in the athletics 400m at Paris Olympics
1924 - Won bronze in the athletics 200m at Paris Olympics
