Eric Henry Liddell was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and a Christian missionary. Born in Tianjin, China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended a boarding school near London, spending time when possible with his family in Edinburgh, and afterwards attended the University of Edinburgh. Eric Liddell set the men's 400 m world record of 47.6 in Paris, France on July 11, 1924. It stood 3.8 years, until Emerson Spencer's 47.0 on May 12, 1928. Wiki link