In 1981 20th-Century Fox released a David Puttnam film about two British athletes who won gold medals in the Olympic Games in Paris almost 60 years before (in 1924). The film won critical acclaim and has been shown many times on television since then.
It brought to the public eye Eric Liddell, a Christian man who turned down the opportunity to compete in the 100 metres, the blue riband event at the Games, because its heats were to be held on a Sunday.
Although Eric was proud to be a Scot, he spent most of his life outside Scotland. He was born in China to godly missionary parents just 100 years ago this year, and the first five years of his life were spent there. They were days of real tension for foreigners. For generations China had been badly treated by more powerful foreign nations and there were times of severe backlash against all foreigners including missionaries.
