• Article |
• Discussion |
• Edit |
• History

HAROLD ABRAHAMS - 'CHARIOTS OF FIRE' ATHLETE

The 'Famous Residents' section of You & Yesterday continues to grow. Here Peter Seddon considers one who qualifies via a Derbyshire education - he is the Old Reptonian Harold Abrahams, the celebrated Olympic athlete whose greatest triumph was depicted in the acclaimed feature film 'Chariots of Fire'.

Old Reptonian Harold Abrahams (1899-1978)

Harold Maurice Abrahams was born in Bedford on 15 December 1899, the son of a Lithuanian Jew.

He was educated at Bedford School and then Repton School, Derbyshire, before going up to Cambridge, where he studied at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving Cambridge University he trained as a lawyer.

He is best remembered as an outstanding British athlete. He was the 100 metre 'dash' Champion at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games, the first British runner to win that coveted title. The feat was famously depicted in the moving 1981 feature film 'Chariots of Fire'.

He first began to show real promise as an athlete during his time at Repton School - he had arrived there in 1914 and was a member of the Old Mitre House.

Whilst at Repton he won both the long jump and 100 yards titles at the 1918 Public School Sports. They were held at the Chelsea Football Club stadium Stamford Bridge, which at that time doubled as an athletics arena.

Thereafter he continued to break records whilst at Cambridge University. On the strength of his performances he earned a place in the Great Britain Olympic team at Antwerp 1920. However, these games were no great success for Abrahams who was eliminated in the quarter-finals of both the 100 metres and 200 metres. He finished twentieth in the long jump, and as part of the British relay team took fourth place in the 4 x 100 metres.

Not deterred by those disappointments, he pushed on with his training and continued to perform well. He was again selected for the Olympics at Paris 1924, and ahead of the games was considered an outside bet for a medal.

In the event he exceeded all expectations, not least through a good deed by his British running colleague Eric Liddell. He had introduced Abrahams to a professional coach - the passionate veteran Sam Mussabini - who for six months prior to the games put Abrahams through a vigorous training regime aimed squarely at the 100 metre event.

Under Mussabini's studied guidance Abrahams perfected his start, stride, and form. One month before the 1924 Games he set the English record in the long jump (24 feet 2.5 inches) which stood for the next 32 years. The same day he clocked 9.6 seconds for the 100 yards, although the time was not classed as a record because the track was on a slight downhill.

All boded well, and at the Olympic Games themselves Abrahams won the 100 metres, beating all the American favourites including the 1920 Gold medal winner Charlie Paddock.

In the 200 metre race Abrahams fared less well. He reached the final but finished in sixth and last place.

However he won a second Olympic medal as a member of the 4 x 100 metre relay team - this time a silver. It is a mark of his single-mindedness in concentrating on the running events that he did not compete in the long jump.

Only a year after his triumph Abrahams suffered an unexpected blow - in May 1925 he broke his leg during a long-jump event and his athletic career ended abruptly.

He returned to his legal career and subsequently worked as an athletics journalist for forty years, writing regular newspaper reports and becoming a commentator for BBC radio. In 1936 he reported from the infamous 'Nazi Olympics' at Berlin - by then his position was less awkward than it might have been, for two years earlier he had forsaken his Jewish faith to become a Roman Catholic.

Abrahams worked tirelessly to promote athletics and was a driving force in overseeing the transition of the sport from what was essentially an amateur 'pastime' to the 'big business' it has become today. For many years he served on countless influential committees and was chairman of the Amateur Athletic Association.

Latterly his contribution has been recognised by an English Heritage Blue Plaque at his former home in Golders Green, north west London, which was unveiled by his daughter Sue Pottle and nephew Tony Abrahams. The plaque is at Hodford Lodge, 2 Hodford Road - Abrahams lived there from 1923 to 1930, the period of his greatest athletic success.

Harold Abrahams died in Enfield on 14 January 1978, aged 78 years, and was buried at Saint John the Baptist Churchyard in Great Amwell, Hertfordshire. He remains one of the most celebrated alumni of Repton School.

FEEDBACK

Did you enjoy this article? If so, why not comment on it? Perhaps you disagree with something in it, or you know something the writer doesn't and can add some extra facts. You may want to ask a question about this article. Making a contribution is easy - either click 'edit' to insert more information or 'discussion' and then 'add comment.' This is your site. Please feel free to use it to the full and share your memories, thoughts and knowledge about Derbyshire with others.

If there is no 'edit' link showing it means the article has either previously been published in the Derby Evening Telegraph, or it has been protected by the site administrator and cannot be edited.'

County:  Derbyshire

Return to You_and_Yesterday