Olympic heroes, No 20: Harold Abrahams

Published on 13/07/2012 01:57

SCOTS like to think of the film Chariots of Fire as being about Eric Liddell but it also featured the heroics of Harold Abrahams, who faced anti-semitism in his successful bid to win the 100m at the 1924 Paris Games, at which Liddell won the 400m.

A sprinter and long jumper since his youth, Abrahams was considerd a long shot for a medal in Paris until he was introduced to professional coach Sam Mussabini by Liddell.

A month before the 1924 Games, he set an English record in the long jump of 24 feet 2½ inches (7.38 m), which stood for the next 32 years. The same day he ran the 100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds, but the time was not submitted as a record because the track was on a slight downhill.

At the 1924 Games, Abrahams won the 100m in a time of 10.6 seconds, beating all the American favourites, including the 1920 gold medal winner Charley Paddock. He also won a silver in the 4x100 relay but did not compete in the long jump.