Eric Liddell
(1902-1945)
Athletics
Inducted in 2002
'The secret of my success over the 400m is that I run the first 200m as hard as I can. Then, for the second 200m, with God's help, I run faster'. Liddell's family home was in Edinburgh where he attended university. As a wing three-quarter he gained seven rugby caps for Scotland, but he made his name in athletics. In 1924, Liddell was part of the British team for the Olympic Games in Paris. He refused to run his main event, the 100m. The race heats were held on a Sunday and this went against Liddell's religious beliefs. With a bronze medal already secured in the 200m, he reached the final of the 400m - a distance he had little experience of - and won the gold. In 1925 Liddell went to China as a missionary. He died there in 1945 in a Japanese internment camp.
- Olympic gold medal, 400m, 1924
- Olympic bronze medal, 200m, 1924
Image from Scran IT