The Gold Medalist Who Chose the Wilderness

In July 1924, Eric Liddell stood on the Olympic podium in Paris, a gold medal around his neck for the 400 meters. All of Scotland celebrated. Newspapers called him the fastest man alive. He could have parlayed that fame into a comfortable life of speaking tours and endorsement deals. Instead, within a year, Liddell boarded a ship for northern China to serve as a missionary teacher in Tianjin.…