biography
| name: |
Abrahams, Harold (Maurice)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1899–1978)
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| biography:
| Athlete, born in Bedford, SC England, UK, the 1924 Olympic 100 m gold medalist whose feat was immortalized in the film Chariots of Fire (1981). During 1923–4 he set four British records at the long jump from 7·19 m to 7·38 m, a record that remained intact for 30 years. He set a record with eight individual event wins for Cambridge University in the annual match against Oxford, 100 yd (1920–3), 440 yd (1923), and long jump (1920, 1922–3). He was Amateur Athletics Association champion at 100 yd in 1924 and long jump in 1923–4. In the pervading amateur era he was ahead of his time in his dedication and professionalism, and caused some consternation by employing Sam Mussabini as his coach (a paid coach in an amateur era). A broken leg in 1925 terminated his athletics career. His winning time of 10·6 sec at the 1924 Paris Olympics saw him become the first European and only Englishman to take the sprint title until Linford Christie's victory in 1992. |
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