The second son of a Church of Scotland missionary, he was born on 16th January 1902, in the north-eastern Chinese city. He was then sent 5000 miles west for his education as a boarder to Eltham Collage in London. And it was not until 1920, when he went up to the University of Edinburgh to read for a BSc in Pure Science, that he first set foot on Scottish soil.

At university, it was at rugby that he first excelled, representing Scotland seven times as a flying winger between 1921 and 1923, only once on the losing side. It was Liddell’s remarkable pace that also drew him to athletics. He was a short and middle-distance athlete of great ability, and he knew, even back in the Corinthian, innocent days of sport, that he would have to choose between rugby and athletics, and sprinting won.

‘Today, he would never have got close to an international cap and vest in two sports,’ speculates veteran sports historian Bob Crampsey, adding, ‘but back then, it was not unusual, so perhaps Liddell’s instinct to specialise was prescient.’

Liddell was selected for the Great Britain team for the Paris Olympics in July 1924 and was amongst the favourites for the 100m gold, but his spirituality came before his sprinting.

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