Harold
Maurice Abrahams
The Oscar-winning film "Chariots of Fire" (1981) is about the life of two important British track and field athletes, Harold Abrahams and Åric Liddel, showing especially their striving for distinction in the Olympic Games of 1924. Abrahams was the winner in the 100m being the first non-American athlete to have won that event. In all previous organizations the athletes from the USA had monopolized an event, which together with the marathon were the most popular Olympic events from back then.
Abrahams was born in Bedford, England, on 15 December 1899, and practised sport from his school years. That occupation became more systematic during his studies at Cambridge, a university of renown and the place where sport was fostered par excellence in Great Britain. He studied law in Cambridge during 1920-1924 and participated in the university's athletics team in the long jump and the sprints. In 1920 he took part in the Olympic Games of Antwerp, in the long jump, the 100m, the 200m and in the 4x100 relay, but without getting any distinction.
In the following years Abrahams' course was remarkably upward, since he developed into one of the greatest high jumpers and sprinters at national and international level. His ultimate goal was the Olympic Games of 1924 and systematic training was the main medium to that end. He even hired Sam Mussabini to be his trainer, thus being the first British amateur athlete to have hired a personal trainer. Soon the results vindicated him. A month before the Olympic Games he broke the British record in the long jump. However, in the Games of Paris Abrahams decided to not participate in the long jump but only to the sprints. His harvest was the gold medal in the 100m, the silver medal in the 4x100 relay race and the sixth place in the 200m.
Abrahams' athletic career was abruptly interrupted several months after the Games of 1924, due to a serious accident he had during his participation in long jump games. In the same year he concluded his studies and began his career as a lawyer. Nevertheless, he continued to be involved in sport through sports journalism. He also wrote several books treating sports issues. One of them dealt with the history of the Olympic Games from the first organization of 1896 at Athens until the Helsinki Games in 1952. He died in London on 14 January 1978.
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