Heroes you should know: Eric Liddell

"It’s complete surrender.” -Eric Liddell


Eric Henry Liddell (January 16, 1902 – February 21, 1945) was a Scottish athlete, an Olympian, a teacher, and a Christian missionary. His success in the Paris Olympics of 1924, is portrayed in the movie Chariots of Fire.

Liddell was born to missionary parents serving in China, but at age six was sent to boarding school in England. Excelling in both athletics (track, rugby, and cricket) and academics, he was renowned for his great humility from an early age. Liddell entered Edinburgh University in 1921, where he studied Pure Science, and after the Olympics returned there to graduate in 1924.

Because of his commitment to not work on Sundays, in honor of the Christian Sabbath, Eric Liddell refused to run in an Olympic heat for the 100 meters and was disqualified. His beliefs also prevented him from competing on the British 4 X 400 meter relay team. These unavoidable scheduling conflicts were seen months in advance, but no amount of pressure could force him to change his mind. He was able to compete in the 400 meter dash and the 200 meter dash, where he won gold and bronze medals.

Liddell’s unwillingness to compromise his beliefs in order to compete for more medals was radical even in 1924, and garnered international attention. But it was what he did away from the track, the media, and the multitude of adoring fans that makes him truly heroic.

Leaving behind fame and the wealth that would certainly have followed his Olympic success, Liddell returned to China in 1925 as a teacher and a missionary, and worked among the poor. By 1941, the Japanese aggression in China had reached the point that the British government advised all British citizens to leave. Liddell’s wife and three daughters escaped to Canada, but Eric remained to serve the sick and injured in a mission hospital with his brother. Soon after he was captured by the Japanese and sent to an internment camp.

Eyewitnesses reported that in spite of harsh living conditions he continued to be a joyful presence, organizing sports games for the youth in the camp and teaching science classes, encouraging his fellow prisoners to persevere in hope, and continuing to speak of God’s love and forgiveness. In 1945, five months before the camp was liberated, Eric Liddell died.

In conjunction with the build-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Chinese government revealed that Eric Liddell had been given the chance to be released from the camp, but chose instead to transfer his pardon to a pregnant woman. This act of sacrifice had been previously unknown even to Liddell’s family.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. (2 Timothy 4:7).

Eric Liddell was great not for what he won, but for what he was willing to lose…for the greater good of humankind.

He is a hero you should know.


To learn more about this hero, you might consider:
Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold , by Janet & Geoff Benge
Eric Liddell: Olympian and Missionary , by Ellen Caughey
God's Joyful Runner, by Russell Ramsey