A Great Olympian of the Past

His Triumph was More than Athletic

Who was the first gold-medalist olympian born in China? The answer may come as a surprise, but his story carries much meaning as we've just seen the first Olympic Games played in the land of his birth.

If you've strained through your memory of fine gymnasts, precision divers and table tennis champions, give up. The man is Eric Liddell, otherwise known as the 'flying Scottsman.' He was the second son of Scottish missionaries to China and was born in 1902 in Tianjin. He distinguished himself as a sprinter at a very young age and was considered a contender for gold in the 1924 Paris Olympics 100 and 200 meter races.

A devoted Christian, Liddell withdrew from the 100 meters, his best event, when he learned that the qualifying heats would be run on Sunday. He still was able to compete in the 200, gaining bronze, but here is where the story gets good!

He won a slot in the 400 meter race as well, but was not expected to do well at all. Before the race, an American trainer handed him a piece of paper that said: "Those who honor me I will honor." -- 1 Samuel 2:30. Liddell ran the race with that piece of paper crumpled in his hand.

Liddell ran that race, coming out like a shot. He ran like he was running a 200! There was no way he should have been able to dig deeper -- but then he did. Anyone who's ever run this race knows it was nothing short of a miracle. Liddell's head went back and his arms flailed as he churned out 200 meters more of pure energy. He won the gold in that event that day, surprising all who observed him run it.

Liddell says that G-d carried him that last 200. NBC described the race yesterday and the commentator stumbled over this fact, saying it was "almost like" a miracle! Hey, he "almost" got it right. They interviewed Liddell's daughter for the piece and she described the rest of Eric Liddell's amazing life. Liddell himself felt the call to minister in China and was there with his family when the Japanese occupation began. Sending his wife and two daughters home, Liddell labored on. When the Japanese interred all foreigners in concentration camps, Liddell became a science teacher for the children and organized games for the youth. It is worth noting that Liddell had no qualms about running athletic events for the youth on Sunday afternoons and was a great force in keeping up everyone's morale.

Winston Churchill arranged a prisoner exchange at one point and Liddell was one of the ones chosen to go, but he gave his place to a pregnant woman and stayed on. He suffered a nervous breakdown while in camp and died of an inoperable brain tumor on February 21, 1945.

In the Moscow Olympics of 1980, Scottsman Allan Wells won the 100 meters. Someone asked him if he had run the race for Harold Abrahams [who won the 100 in 1924], and Wells said "No, this one is for Eric Liddell!"

What would Eric Liddell have thought of the games we have just witnessed? I think he would have shared the mixed feelings of many of us; Happy to see the door open, but grieved at the condition of so many of our Chinese brethren.

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