Olympic Gold!

Celebrates the centenary of Eric Liddell winning gold at the 1924 Summer Olympics

by Janice Ross

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To consider what makes people legends.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Olympic Gold!) and the means to display them.
• Have available the YouTube video ‘The Eric Liddell 100’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 3.22 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/FLaKb1txtQ8  
• Further information and educational resources are available on The Eric Liddell Community website at: https://ericliddell.org/education-resource/
  

Assembly

1. Ask the children, ‘Who knows what a legend is?’
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Suggestions should lead to the answer that it is a story from the past that is believed by many people, but cannot be proved to be true.
   
   
2. Mention that we might have heard our friends or family describing certain people as legends.
   
   Calling someone a legend means that they are very special, and probably famous. They are respected and admired by many people, usually for their character or achievements. These achievements have proved to be true and lasting.
   
   
3. Show Slide 1.
   
   We could say that Queen Elizabeth II was a legend. She was certainly a remarkable woman: respected for her service to her country, admired for her resilience and dedication, and fondly remembered for her lovely smile, which brought joy to everyone she met.
   
   
4. Many sportspeople have been called legends. These are people who have left their mark on the world of sports through their hard work and success.
   
   How many sports legends do we know?
   
   Show Slides 2 to 4, asking the following questions with each slide.
   
   - Who is this?
   - Why might they be called a legend?
   
   Slide 2 shows Serena Williams, a famous tennis player who has won 23 Grand Slam titles. She is known for her tenacity, power and dedication.
   
   Slide 3 shows Michael Schumacher, a Formula One driver who won the World Drivers’ Championship seven times.
   
   Slide 4 shows Lionel Messi, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. He won 34 trophies - a club record - for his team, Barcelona.
   
   
5. Show Slide 5.
   
   This is Eric Liddell, who was a sports legend 100 years ago.
   
   
6. Show Slide 6.
   
   Ask the children what they can work out about Eric Liddell from the picture.
   
   Suggestions might include that he was an athlete, a runner. Also, the black-and-white photo gives a clue as to the era.
   
   
7. Tell the children some facts about Eric Liddell.
   
   Eric Liddell was a brilliant Scottish athlete. At the 1924 Summer Olympics, 100 years ago, he won a gold medal for the 400-metre race. This made him a legend because it was not the race that he was supposed to be running. His race was usually the 100-metre sprint.
   
   Eric was born in 1902 in China. His parents were Scottish missionaries, and he went to boarding school in London when he was six years old. He excelled at sport, especially athletics and rugby. While he was studying at the University of Edinburgh, he played in seven out of eight Five Nations rugby matches. However, his particular skill was his speed in the 100-metre sprint, and he became well-known as the fastest runner in Scotland during this time.
   
   
8. Point out that this information still doesn’t tell us much about the man and his character. However, we can learn something from what his headmaster said about him: ‘Eric is entirely without vanity.’
   
   Ask the children, ‘What does this tell us about Eric Liddell?’
   
   Suggestions might include that he wasn’t proud, he was humble.
   
   
9. Famously, Eric said, ‘God made me fast, and when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.’
   
   Ask the children, ‘What does this tell us about him?’
   
   Suggestions might include that Eric had faith in God, he was a Christian and he felt that his speed was a God-given gift.
   
   
10. Sunday was the most important day of the week for Eric’s family. It was a day of rest, a Sabbath day. On Sundays, he would rest from running and go to church.
    
    In 1924, Eric was chosen to go to that year’s Olympic Games in Paris. He was very excited about it, and so were the people of Scotland. But there was a problem: Eric discovered that the heat for his 100-metre race would be held on a Sunday.
    
    Ask the children, ‘Why do you think this was an issue for Eric?’
    
    Suggestions might include that Eric always kept Sunday as a day of rest, dedicated to God.
    
    
11. We might assume that the Olympics would be a different matter: surely Eric could make an exception! However, his conscience wouldn’t let him. He wanted to please God even more than he wanted to please his fans and his country.
    
    
12. The Olympic organizers were angry with Eric, and so were some of his teammates and fans. But Eric would not run in his heat. 
    
    Instead, he decided to run in the heats for the 400-metre race, which were being held on a weekday. This was quite a different race from the 100-metre sprint, so it would be much more difficult for him. However, Eric got through to the finals and what do you think happened? That’s right: Eric won the gold medal!
    
    
13. Show the YouTube video ‘The Eric Liddell 100’ (3.22 minutes long).

Time for reflection

Not all sportspeople are legends. Some people might be brilliant athletes, rugby players or footballers, but their lives and characters let them down. They appear in the news having done things that are wrong.

However, for Eric Liddell, doing what was right was the most important thing.

Ask the children, ‘What would you like to be remembered for?’

Pause to allow time for thought.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for people like Eric Liddell.
Thank you that he stood up for what he believed about you, even though it was hard and it made him unpopular.
Please help us always to do what we think is the right thing, even if others don’t stand with us.
Amen.