At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Liddell refused to run in the heats for his favoured 100 metres because they were held on a Sunday.

Liddell's Olympic training and racing, and the religious convictions that influenced him, are depicted in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire, in which he is portrayed by fellow Scot and University of Edinburgh alumnus Ian Charleson.

At the age of six, he and his eight-year-old brother Robert were enrolled in Eltham College, a boarding school in south London for the sons of missionaries.

In 1922 and 1923, he played in seven out of eight Five Nations matches, and scored back-to-back tries in four appearances, which included wins over Ireland, France, and Wales.

[6] While his main weapon was his speed, The Scotsman opined after Scotland's victory over Ireland in 1923 that "never again should it be held against him that he is 'only a runner'", and The Student wrote that Liddell had "that rare combination, pace and the gift of rugby brains and hands".

[6] On the centenary of his first international cap against France in January 1922, Liddell was inducted into the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame for his achievements.

On 15 July 2024, almost 100 years to the day after winning his 400 metre gold medal in Paris, the university awarded Liddell a posthumous degree of Doctor honoris causa in recognition of his contribution to sport and humanity.

Inspired by the Biblical message, and deprived of a view of the other runners because he drew the outside lane, Liddell raced the whole of the first 200 metres to be well clear of the favoured Americans.

[17] A few days earlier Liddell had competed in the 200-metre finals, for which he received the bronze medal behind Americans Jackson Scholz and Charles Paddock, beating British rival and teammate Harold Abrahams, who finished in sixth place.

[18] His performance in the 400-metre race in Paris stood as a European record for 12 years, until beaten by another British athlete, Godfrey Brown, at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

[15] Shortly after the Games, he ran the final leg in the 4×400-metre race in a British Empire vs. USA contest to help secure victory over the Americans, who had won the gold medal in Paris.

[22] Liddell returned to Northern China to serve as a missionary, like his parents, from 1925 to 1943 – first in Tianjin and later in the town of Xiaozhang,[23] Zaoqiang County, Hengshui, Hebei province, an extremely poor area that had suffered during the country's civil wars and had become a particularly treacherous battleground with the invading Japanese.

Dr. Hart believed that by teaching the children of the wealthy, he would help them become influential figures in China and promote Christian values.

Florence (who was pregnant with Maureen) and the children left for Canada to stay with her family when Liddell accepted a position at a rural mission station in Xiaozhang, which served the poor.

[29] It was also claimed that one Sunday Liddell refereed a hockey match to stop fighting amongst the players, as he was trusted not to take sides.

Langdon Gilkey, who also survived the camp and became a prominent theologian in his native America, said of Liddell: Often in an evening I would see him bent over a chessboard or a model boat, or directing some sort of square dance – absorbed, weary and interested, pouring all of himself into this effort to capture the imagination of these penned-up youths.

[24][31] In his last letter to his wife, written on the day he died, Liddell wrote of suffering a nervous breakdown due to overwork.

Langdon Gilkey later wrote, "The entire camp, especially its youth, was stunned for days, so great was the vacuum that Eric's death had left.

[40][6] In 2008, just before the Beijing Olympics, Chinese authorities claimed that Liddell had refused an opportunity to leave the camp, and instead gave his place to a pregnant woman.

[41] Liddell was buried in the garden behind the Japanese officers' quarters, his grave marked by a small wooden cross.

The site was forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1989, in the grounds of what is now Weifang Middle School[15] in Shandong Province, north-east China, 480 km (298 mi) south of Beijing.

Its rediscovery was largely the result of the determination of Charles Walker, a civil engineer working in Hong Kong, who felt that one of Scotland's great heroes was in danger of being forgotten.

[43] In 1991 the University of Edinburgh erected a memorial headstone, made from Isle of Mull granite and carved by a mason in Tobermory, at the former camp site in Weifang.

The city of Weifang commemorated Liddell during the 60th anniversary of the internment camp's liberation by laying a wreath on his grave.

Local residents dedicated it to inspiring, empowering, and supporting people of all ages, cultures, and abilities, as an expression of compassionate Christian values.

The film portrays Liddell as finding out that one of the heats was to be held on a Sunday as he boards the boat that will take the British Olympic team across the English Channel to Paris.

In reality, the schedule and Liddell's decision were both known several months in advance, though his refusal to participate remains significant.

Liddell then threw his head back and, with mouth wide open, caught and passed his opponents to win the race.

[citation needed] In the 1945 report of his death The Guardian wrote, "He is remembered among lovers of athletics as probably the ugliest runner who ever won an Olympic championship.

When he appeared in the heats of the 400m at Paris in 1924, his huge sprawling stride, his head thrown back and his arms clawing the air, moved the Americans and other sophisticated experts to ribald laughter."