Paris 1924 harold abrahams biography

Harold Maurice Abrahams, CBE, (15 December 189914 January 1978) was a British athlete of Jewish origin. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.

Biography

Early life

Abrahams's father Isaac had emigrated to England from Russian Poland. He worked as a financier and settled in Bedford with his Welsh wife Ester. Harold was born in Bedford, and was the younger brother of another British athlete, the Olympic long jumper Sir Sidney Abrahams. Another brother, Sir Adolphe Abrahams, became the founder of British sport medicine.

Harold was educated at Bedford School, Repton School and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1920 to 1924, before training as a lawyer. At Cambridge, he was a member of the Cambridge University Athletics Club (of which he was president 1922–1923), Cambridge University Liberal Club the Pitt Club, and the Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Before going