Eric Henry Liddell is best known for words he likely never uttered, but reflect the character of a man who lived a life of example.

In the 1981 Oscar-winning movie “Chariots of Fire,” Liddell responds to his sister’s chastisement that he was more interested in the glory of running than his commitment to God:


The words may be apocryphal, but his actions during the 1924 Summer Olympic Games in Paris earned Liddell a place in the pantheon of sports heroes, when he refused to run in the 100-meter sprint because the preliminary qualifying heats were held on the Sabbath. Liddell, the British 100-yard dash record holder, was the favorite to win the race, but stood his ground in the face of peer, public and British Olympic Committee pressure to put national pride and honor ahead of his religious conviction.

His absence in the 100-meter cleared the way for Harold Abrahams, whose story was dramatized in “Chariots of Fire” as well, though more liberties were taken with his story than Liddell’s. Abrahams won gold in the 100-meter, and finished sixth in the 200-meter.

Liddell won the bronze (third-place) in the 200-meter, and set the Olympic and world records when he won the gold medal in the 400-meter race.

While he loved to run, Liddell was committed to following the path of his parents as a London Missionary Society missionary in China. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1925, and began his mission work in Tientsin (now Tianjin), where he was born on Jan. 16, 1902.

Liddell grew up with his parents in China until he was six, and he was sent to a boarding school in Scotland for the children of missionaries, Eltham College. He was more interested in sports than scholarship and became a star athlete at the school. His accomplishments in rugby and track made him a minor celebrity in Scotland during World War I, and after he entered the University of Edinburgh in 1920, he became one of Great Britain’s most celebrated sprinters as well as played on the school’s rugby team and the Scottish national team.

His Olympic fame followed him to China, where he taught school to the children of wealthy Chinese from 1925-1932, and ran the occasional race against Chinese and Japanese sprinters. He returned to Scotland for a two-year break, where he was ordained.

He returned to China in 1934 and married Canadian Florence Mackenzie.

Since the Boxer Rebellion, which was quelled just before Liddell was born, troops from the U.S., Great Britain, Italy and Japan had been stationed to protect their citizens and business interests in China.

Japan had larger ambitions. In 1941, Liddell sent his wife and three children out of China, but he remained and helped his brother, who was missionary doctor. In 1943, Liddell was sent to internment camp with most other missionaries and other foreign citizens.

Langdon Gilkey, who went to become a prominent theologian, including a stint on the faculty of the Vanderbilt Divinity School from 1954-1963, was interned in prison camp with Liddell. After the war he wrote:

“Often in an evening I would see him bent over a chessboard or a model boat, or directing some sort of square dance – absorbed, weary and interested, pouring all of himself into this effort to capture the imagination of these penned-up youths. He was overflowing with good humor and love for life, and with enthusiasm and charm. It is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known.”

Liddell died in the camp on Feb. 21, 1945, from a brain tumor.

Frank Daniels III:, or 615-881-7039, @fdanielsiii.

Read or Share this story: