Harold Abrahams
Encyclopedia
Harold Maurice Abrahams, CBE, (15 December 189914 January 1978) was a British
athlete
of Jewish
origin. He was Olympic champion in 1924
in the 100 metres sprint
, a feat depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire
.
. He worked as a financier and settled in Bedford
with his Welsh
wife Ester. Harold was born in Bedford, and was the younger brother of another British athlete, the Olympic
long jump
er Sir Sidney Abrahams
. Another brother, Sir Adolphe Abrahams, became the founder of British sport medicine.
Harold was educated at Bedford School
, Repton School
and then at Gonville and Caius College
, Cambridge
from 1920 to 1924, before training as a lawyer
. At Cambridge, he was a member of the Cambridge University Athletics Club (of which he was president 1922–1923), Cambridge University Liberal Club the Pitt Club
, and the Gilbert and Sullivan
Society. Before going to Cambridge he served as a lieutenant in the British Army
.
er since his youth, he continued to compete in sport while at Cambridge. He earned a place in the 1920 Olympic
team, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals of both the 100 m and 200 m
, and finished 20th in the long jump. He was also part of the British relay
team that took fourth place in the 4 x 100 m
.
Though he dominated British long jump and sprint events, Abrahams was considered a long shot for medals at the 1924 Olympics
in Paris
, France. However Eric Liddell
introduced Abrahams to a professional coach, Sam Mussabini
, whom Abrahams, with the encouragement of his brother, employed.
For six months, Mussabini at Abrahams's direction emphasized the 100 m, with the 200 m as secondary. Through vigorous training, Abrahams perfected his start, stride, and form. One month before the 1924 Games, he set the English record in the long jump 24 foot, a record 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 Summer Games, Abrahams won the 100 m in a time of 10.6 seconds, beating all the American
favourites, including the 1920 gold-medal winner Charlie Paddock
. (In third place was Arthur Porritt
, later Governor-General of New Zealand
and Queen's Surgeon. The Paris Olympics 100 m dash took place at 7 p.m. on 7 July 1924, and Abrahams and Porritt dined together at 7 p.m. on 7 July every year thereafter, until Abrahams's death in 1978.) In the 200 m race, Abrahams reached the final, placing sixth and last. (Liddell also ran the 200m and finished third.) As an opening runner for the 4 x 100 m team, Abrahams won a second Olympic medal, a silver
. He did not compete in the long jump.
and editor of the Official British Olympic Report for the same games. Subsequently he worked as an athletics journalist for forty years, becoming a commentator on the sports for BBC radio
. In 1936, he reported the Berlin Olympics
for the BBC. Later in his life, he also became the president of the Jewish Athletic Association, and served as the chairman for the Amateur Athletic Association.
Abrahams wrote a number of books, including The Olympic Games, 1896-1952 and The Rome Olympiad, 1960. He was the timekeeper for Roger Bannister
's historic four-minute mile.
Abrahams died in Enfield
on 14 January 1978, aged 78. He was buried at Saint John the Baptist Churchyard in Great Amwell
, Hertfordshire
. Buried in the same grave is his wife Sybil Evers
(19 June 1904 – 24 June 1963).
in 1934. In 1936 he married D'Oyly Carte mezzo-soprano Sybil Evers
(misidentified in the movie Chariots of Fire as Sybil Gordon
), whom he met in 1935. Abrahams and Evers had one adopted son, and one adopted daughter, Susan, who married anti-nuclear
activist Pat Pottle
.
Abrahams has been recognized with an English Heritage
Blue Plaque
at his former home in Golders Green
in northwest London, which was unveiled by his daughter Sue Pottle (wife of Pat Pottle
) and nephew Tony Abrahams. Abrahams lived at Hodford Lodge, 2 Hodford Road, from 1923 to 1930, years during which he achieved his greatest successes.
Abrahams was immortalised in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire
, in which he was played by British actor Ben Cross
. The film won four Academy Awards
, including Best Picture
. His memorial service serves as the framing device for the movie, which tells his story and that of Liddell's.
Abrahams was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
in 1981 and into the England Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Norris McWhirter
once commented that Abrahams "managed by sheer force of personality and with very few allies to raise athletics from a minor to a major national sport". Reflecting in 1948 on Abrahams' athleticism, Philip Noel-Baker
, Britain's 1912 Olympic captain and a Nobel Prize winner, wrote:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
athlete
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
of Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
origin. He was Olympic champion in 1924
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
in the 100 metres sprint
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
, a feat depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
.
Early life
Abrahams's father Isaac had emigrated to England from Russian PolandCongress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. He worked as a financier and settled in Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
with his Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
wife Ester. Harold was born in Bedford, and was the younger brother of another British athlete, the Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
er Sir Sidney Abrahams
Sidney Abrahams
Sir Sidney Solomon Abrahams , nicknamed Solly, was a British Olympic athlete and Chief Justice of Ceylon . He was the older brother of famed Olympian Harold Abrahams....
. Another brother, Sir Adolphe Abrahams, became the founder of British sport medicine.
Harold was educated at Bedford School
Bedford School
Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Modern School or Bedford High School or Old Bedford School in Bedford, TexasBedford School is an HMC independent school for boys located in the town of Bedford, England, United Kingdom...
, Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
and then at Gonville and Caius College
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
from 1920 to 1924, before training as a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. At Cambridge, he was a member of the Cambridge University Athletics Club (of which he was president 1922–1923), Cambridge University Liberal Club the Pitt Club
Pitt Club
The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, is a club, only open to male students at the University of Cambridge. In the past, most of its membership attended certain private schools, and whilst this is no longer a criterion for membership it is still largely true...
, and the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
Society. Before going to Cambridge he served as a lieutenant in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
Running career
A sprinter and long jumpLong jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
er since his youth, he continued to compete in sport while at Cambridge. He earned a place in the 1920 Olympic
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
team, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals of both the 100 m and 200 m
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
, and finished 20th in the long jump. He was also part of the British relay
Relay race
During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...
team that took fourth place in the 4 x 100 m
4 x 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...
.
Though he dominated British long jump and sprint events, Abrahams was considered a long shot for medals at the 1924 Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France. However Eric Liddell
Eric Liddell
Eric Henry Liddell was a Scottish athlete, rugby union international player, and missionary.Liddell was the winner of the men's 400 metres at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris...
introduced Abrahams to a professional coach, Sam Mussabini
Sam Mussabini
Scipio Africanus "Sam" Mussabini was an athletics coach best known for his work with Harold Abrahams. In total he coached athletes to a total of eleven Olympic medals over five Olympics...
, whom Abrahams, with the encouragement of his brother, employed.
For six months, Mussabini at Abrahams's direction emphasized the 100 m, with the 200 m as secondary. Through vigorous training, Abrahams perfected his start, stride, and form. One month before the 1924 Games, he set the English record in the long jump 24 foot, a record which stood for the next 32 years. The same day he ran the 100 yard
Yard
A yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
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 Summer Games, Abrahams won the 100 m in a time of 10.6 seconds, beating all the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
favourites, including the 1920 gold-medal winner Charlie Paddock
Charlie Paddock
Charles "Charlie" William Paddock was an American athlete and twofold Olympic champion.After serving in World War I as a lieutenant of field artillery in the U.S. Marines, Paddock - a native of Gainesville, Texas - studied at the University of Southern California...
. (In third place was Arthur Porritt
Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt
- External links :* * *...
, later Governor-General of New Zealand
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
and Queen's Surgeon. The Paris Olympics 100 m dash took place at 7 p.m. on 7 July 1924, and Abrahams and Porritt dined together at 7 p.m. on 7 July every year thereafter, until Abrahams's death in 1978.) In the 200 m race, Abrahams reached the final, placing sixth and last. (Liddell also ran the 200m and finished third.) As an opening runner for the 4 x 100 m team, Abrahams won a second Olympic medal, a silver
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
. He did not compete in the long jump.
Life after running
In May 1925, Abrahams broke his leg while long-jumping, ending his athletic career. He returned to his legal career. In 1928, he was team captain of the British Olympic team at Amsterdam1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...
and editor of the Official British Olympic Report for the same games. Subsequently he worked as an athletics journalist for forty years, becoming a commentator on the sports for BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
. In 1936, he reported the Berlin Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
for the BBC. Later in his life, he also became the president of the Jewish Athletic Association, and served as the chairman for the Amateur Athletic Association.
Abrahams wrote a number of books, including The Olympic Games, 1896-1952 and The Rome Olympiad, 1960. He was the timekeeper for Roger Bannister
Roger Bannister
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CBE is an English former athlete best known for running the first recorded mile in less than 4 minutes...
's historic four-minute mile.
Abrahams died in Enfield
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
on 14 January 1978, aged 78. He was buried at Saint John the Baptist Churchyard in Great Amwell
Amwell, Hertfordshire
Amwell , is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, located 1½ miles from Ware, and about 20 miles north of London. Great Amwell is also the name of the civil parish within East Hertfordshire district....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. Buried in the same grave is his wife Sybil Evers
Sybil Evers
Sybil Marjorie Evers was a British mezzo-soprano and actress. She was the wife of Olympic champion runner Harold Abrahams.-Career:...
(19 June 1904 – 24 June 1963).
Personal life
Abrahams converted to CatholicismCatholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in 1934. In 1936 he married D'Oyly Carte mezzo-soprano Sybil Evers
Sybil Evers
Sybil Marjorie Evers was a British mezzo-soprano and actress. She was the wife of Olympic champion runner Harold Abrahams.-Career:...
(misidentified in the movie Chariots of Fire as Sybil Gordon
Sybil Gordon
Sybil Gordon was a British singer. She is best remembered for her performances in Gilbert and Sullivan roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1926 to 1931. Gordon started out as a concert singer. After her career with the D'Oyly Carte company, she moved to Canada, where she broadcast on...
), whom he met in 1935. Abrahams and Evers had one adopted son, and one adopted daughter, Susan, who married anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
activist Pat Pottle
Pat Pottle
Patrick Pottle was a founder member of the Committee of 100, an anti-nuclear direct action group which broke away from CND....
.
Honors
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Blue Plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
at his former home in Golders Green
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Although having some earlier history, it is essentially a 19th century suburban development situated about 5.3 miles north west of Charing Cross and centred on the crossroads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.In the...
in northwest London, which was unveiled by his daughter Sue Pottle (wife of Pat Pottle
Pat Pottle
Patrick Pottle was a founder member of the Committee of 100, an anti-nuclear direct action group which broke away from CND....
) and nephew Tony Abrahams. Abrahams lived at Hodford Lodge, 2 Hodford Road, from 1923 to 1930, years during which he achieved his greatest successes.
Abrahams was immortalised in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
, in which he was played by British actor Ben Cross
Ben Cross
Ben Cross is a British actor of the stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:...
. The film won four Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, including Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. His memorial service serves as the framing device for the movie, which tells his story and that of Liddell's.
Abrahams was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
in 1981 and into the England Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Norris McWhirter
Norris McWhirter
Norris Dewar McWhirter, CBE was a writer, political activist, co-founder of the Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his twin brother, Ross, were known internationally for the Guinness Book of Records, a book they wrote and annually updated together between 1955 and 1975...
once commented that Abrahams "managed by sheer force of personality and with very few allies to raise athletics from a minor to a major national sport". Reflecting in 1948 on Abrahams' athleticism, Philip Noel-Baker
Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker
by Philip Noel-Baker with other authorsby others* Lloyd, Lorna: Philip Noel-Baker and the Peace Through Law in -External links:...
, Britain's 1912 Olympic captain and a Nobel Prize winner, wrote:
I have always believed that Harold Abrahams was the only European sprinter who could have run with Jesse OwensJesse OwensJames Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
, Joe Candito, Ralph MetcalfeRalph MetcalfeRalph Harold Metcalfe was an African-American athlete and politician who came second to Jesse Owens in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Metcalfe jointly held the world record for the 100 meter sprint. Metcalfe was known as the world’s fastest human from 1932 through 1934...
, and the other great sprinters from the U.S. He was in their class, not only because of natural gifts — his magnificent physique, his splendid racing temperament, his flair for the big occasion — but because he understood athletics and had given more brainpower and more will power to the subject than any other runner of his day.
See also
- Achilles ClubAchilles ClubThe Achilles Club is a track and field club formed in 1920 by and for past and present representatives of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Members have won 19 Olympic Gold Medals , and held 38 World Records...
- Evelyn Aubrey MontagueEvelyn Aubrey MontagueEvelyn Aubrey Montague was an English athlete and journalist. He ran in the 1924 Paris Olympics, placing sixth in the steeplechase race. Montague is immortalized in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire, where he is portrayed by Nicholas Farrell...
- List of select Jewish track and field athletes