00:00En 1924, en Paris, los campeonatos de Olimpíes se establecieron en el mundo más importante
00:06sporting event. Los británicos llegaron con un equipo muy fuerte. En los eventos de sprint,
00:11pero, los americanos fueron los hombres que se encuentran. Son dos americanos en el 100 metros
00:16final, Jackson Schultz y el campeonato de defensa, Charlie Paddock, y ambos fueron favoritos para
00:22el gold.
00:25Britain was represented by a Cambridge graduate who had recently broken the English record
00:29in Longjump. However, Harold Abrahams was sure his best chance of Olympic gold rested with
00:35100 metros.
00:54As he crossed the line, Abrahams had run the race of his life, beating Schultz to the gold
01:00by over a foot. Another British sprinter should have been in that final, but for a twist
01:05of fate. Eric Liddell was due to run in the 100 meters, but withdrew when he discovered
01:10the heats fell on a Sunday, his day of worship. Instead, Liddell ran in the 400 meters and made
01:16it to the final.
01:19Not expected to do well, Liddell ran like a man inspired. Starting in the outside lane,
01:24he passed the 200 meter mark in a remarkable 22.2 seconds, a time many thought was too fast
01:30to maintain.
01:36But Liddell showed no sign of tiring coming into the final straight. In fact, he increased
01:41his lead. When he crossed the line, he had set a new Olympic record of 47.6 seconds, leaving
01:47the other runners floundering in despair.
02:00The 1981 film, Chariots of Fire, dramatized Abrahams and Liddell's heroic stories for a
02:06whole new audience. But their real moments of victory came in Paris in 1924.
02:12.
