The Final Lap of Eric Liddell

In 1924, Eric Liddell electrified the world by winning Olympic gold in the 400 meters at the Paris Games — a race he almost never ran, having refused to compete in his best event on a Sunday. But Liddell's greatest race had nothing to do with a stadium.

Two years after his Olympic triumph, Liddell left Scotland for China as a missionary. For nearly two decades he taught, preached, and served in rural villages, often cycling miles through dangerous territory to reach remote communities. When the Japanese invaded, friends urged him to evacuate. He refused, staying to serve those who could not leave.

In 1943, Liddell was interned at the Weifang camp in Shandong Province. Crammed behind walls with 1,800 other prisoners, he organized games for children, tutored teenagers, and cared for the elderly. Fellow prisoners recalled that he never complained, never grew bitter. A brain tumor was quietly stealing his strength, but he kept pouring himself out.

On February 21, 1945, just five months before liberation, Liddell died in that camp. His last words to a nurse were simply, "It's complete surrender."