Welcome to five minutes in church history hosted by Dr Stephen Nichols, where we take a little break from the present to go exploring the past.

Travel back in time as we look at the people, events, and even the places that have shaped the story of Christianity.

This is our story, our family history. Let's get started.

Welcome back to another episode of five minutes in church history. On this

episode we're going to be talking about Eric Little. Eric Little was born

in 1992 and he died in 1945. While he was known as the in in China. Of course Little is famous for his feats on the track in the 1924 Paris Olympics.

But he also lived an interesting life off the track.

He was born in China to missionaries. His father was a

medical missionary, a Scottish Presbyterian, and serving there in China as a

medical missionary. When Eric Little was a young man, he was sent back to Scotland for boarding school, and he went off to university in Scotland.

At university, he excelled both in his studies, and he studied the sciences, and he excelled in athletics.

Looks like rugby and sprinting were his two main sports and he was quite the

force at the 100 and at the 220.

It was very clear early on that Little was destined for the Olympics and he set his sights on Paris in 1924.

Well, the word came down that the first heat of the 100 would be on a Sunday. And Little was a

Scottish Presbyterian and so he could not run on that the 220 and the 400 and then he earned a bronze and then he stepped up to the

starting blocks for the 400 and to everyone's surprise Eric Little won the

gold medal.

In fact, one of the newspapers said,

not only was it to everyone's surprise,

it was also quite a spectacle to watch.

Little had quite a running style.

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