My wife and I rewatched The Chariots of Fire 2 nights ago. It brings back fond memories of our trip years ago to Edinburgh, where we visited The Old Course at St Andrews. We had lunch at the historic hotel by the club with a view of the beach where the iconic beach running scene of the movie was shot.
The movie won 4 Academy Awards in 1981, including Best Picture.
The lives of the two runners in the movie are told in these 2 books. Abraham is an English Jew. Liddell is a Scotsman. Abraham won the gold in the 100m in the Paris Olympics of 1924. Liddell won gold in the 400m.
The movie compressed time. Liddell did not find out that the 100m heats were scheduled on the Sabbath just a few days before the event. He was told months earlier and so opted to run the 200m and 400m. He won the 400m in an Olympic and World record. Lord Lindsey, in the movie gave up his spot on the 400m to Liddell. This is fictitious. Lord Lindsey does not exist. {page 186 Magnusson}
Liddell who was born in China to missionary parents loved the Chinese. He went to China as a missionary in 1925, was interned by the Japanese and died in the camp in 1945, age 43 of a brain tumor.