Running Your Race - God's Olympics

That’s exactly what they did. The son’s head was sometimes buried in his father’s shoulder, but the two men stayed in Derek’s lane and crossed the finish line together as the crowd looked on, then rose up, cheered, and wept

Eric Liddell

One of Scotland’s greatest athletes, Eric Liddell was born in China, the son of Scottish missionaries. It was while he was attending Edinburgh University preparing for the ministry that his talent for running came to light. He won the 100 yards and the 220 yards for five successive years at the Scottish Athletic Championships.

Liddell was an unorthodox sprinter. Coming out of his starting holes, Liddell ran with abandon, head tilted toward the skies. When asked how he knew where the finish line was located, he replied in his deliberate Scottish brogue, "The Lord guides me."

Selected to run for Britain in the 100 metres in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, Eric waited excitedly for the posting of the Olympic heats for the 100 meters and the 4X100 and 4X400 relays, his best events. He was stunned upon learning the preliminary dashes were on Sunday. "I’m not running," he said flatly and then turned his attention to train for the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes. He considered Sunday to be a day set apart for the Lord; and he would honor his convictions at the expense of fame.

On Sunday, July 6, Liddell preached in a Paris church as the 100-meter heats were run. Three days later, he finished third in the 200-meter sprint, taking an unexpected bronze medal. He quietly made his way through the heats of the 400 meters but was not expected to win. Shaking hands with the other finalists, he readied for the race of his life.

Arms thrashing, head bobbing and tilted, legs dancing, Liddell ran to victory, five meters ahead of the silver medalist.

"The Flying Scotsman" had a gold metal and a world record, 47.6 seconds. Most of all, Eric Liddell had kept his commitment to his convictions of faith. He gave the secret of his success as "I run the first 200 metres as fast as I can. Then, with God’s help, I run harder."

The next year, Liddell returned to China, where he had been born to missionary parents, as a teacher and missionary. In 1932, he was ordained as a minister and married in 1933.

He traveled throughout China sharing Christ in isolated communities, forcing him to leave his wife and children behind, was the result of insistent prayer. "Complete surrender" was his description of this attitude.

In March of 1943, Liddell, along with other Americans and Brits, entered a Japanese prison camp. He was appointed math teacher and supervised a sports program. He arose each morning to study his Bible and was the cheer of the camp.

But his health deteriorated rapidly. A brain tumor ravaged his body with severe headaches. Shortly after his forty-third birthday in January 1945, Liddell collapsed. His last words, spoken to a camp nurse, were, "It’s complete surrender."

Upon learning of Liddell’s death, all of Scotland mourned. Heaven rejoiced.

His athletic prowess and his principles became the subject of the film "Chariots of Fire." The film won four Oscars, including that for "Best Film" in 1982.