Norman Pritchard
Norman Gilbert Pritchard (23 June 1875 – 30 October 1929), also known by his stage name Norman Trevor, was a British-Indian athlete and actor who became the first Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal when he won two silver medals in athletics at the 1900 Paris Olympics representing India. He won India's first medal at the Olympics in the 200 metres and the 200 metres hurdles.[1][2][3]
In The Sketch, 28 February 1900 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Norman Gilbert Pritchard | |||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 June 1875 Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India | |||||||||||||||||
| Died | 30 October 1929 (aged 54) Los Angeles, United States | |||||||||||||||||
| Education | St. Xavier's College, Calcutta | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 200 metre hurdles 200 metres | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography edit
Norman Pritchard was born in Calcutta to George Petersen Pritchard and Helen Maynard Pritchard.[1]
Norman Pritchard was the first Indian athlete to participate in the Olympic Games and was also the first to win an Olympic medal and also represent an Asian nation.[4] He won two silver medals at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, coming second in the 200 metres behind Walter Tewksbury of the United States and second in the 200 metres hurdles behind the legendary Alvin Kraenzlein, also of the United States. He reached the final of the 110 metres hurdles, but did not finish, and also participated in the 60 metres and 100 metres sprints, in which he failed to qualify for the finals.[citation needed]
In 2005 the IAAF published the official track and field statistics for the 2004 Summer Olympics. In the historical records section Pritchard was listed as having competed for Great Britain in 1900. Research by Olympic historians has shown that Pritchard was indeed chosen to represent Great Britain after competing in the British AAA championship in June 1900.[5] However, the IOC still regards Pritchard as having competed for India, and his two medals are credited to India.[6]
Pritchard won the Bengal province 100 yards sprint title for seven consecutive years, from 1894 to 1900 and set a meet record in 1898–99. He also won the 440 yards (¼ mile) run and the 120 yards hurdles.[7]
He studied at St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, and is credited with the first hat-trick in an open football tournament in India, for Saint Xavier's against Sovabazar in July 1897.
He served as Secretary of the Indian Football Association from 1900 to 1902. He moved permanently to Britain in 1905.[7]
He then moved to the United States to pursue a career in acting and became the first Olympian to act in silent Hollywood movies under the screen name, Norman Trevor.[8]
Death edit
He died in Los Angeles of a brain malady on 30 October 1929.[1]
Selected filmography edit
- The Ivory Snuff Box (1915)
- The Daughter Pays (1920)
- Romance (1920)
- The Black Panther's Cub (1921)
- Jane Eyre (1921)
- The Side Show of Life (1924)
- Roulette (1924)
- Wages of Virtue (1924)
- The Man Who Found Himself (1925)
- Dancing Mothers (1926)
- The Ace of Cads (1926)
- The Song and Dance Man (1926)
- Beau Geste (1926)
- The Warning (1927)
- New York (1927)
- Afraid to Love (1927)
- The Wizard (1927)
- The Music Master (1927)
- Children of Divorce (1927)
- Sorrell and Son (1927)
- The Siren (1927)
- Mad Hour (1928)
- Restless Youth (1928)
- The Love Trap (1929)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c . The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata). Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ "Norman Pritchard". Olympedia. from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ . wbsportsandyouth.gov.in. Kolkata: Government of West Bengal – Department of youth services and sports. 2017. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "Norman Pritchard". Olympic.org. from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ Wallechinsky, David (2000). The Complete Book of the Olympics. Aurum Press.
- ^ "Paris 1900 Athletics – Results & Videos". International Olympic Committee. 20 November 2016. from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Norman Pritchard – India's first Olympic medalist". sportskeeda.com. from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- ^ Buchanan, Ian. (PDF). Journal of Olympic History (January 2000). International Society of Olympic Historians: 27–28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2018.
External links edit
- Norman Pritchard at Olympics.com
- Norman Pritchard at Olympedia
- Norman Pritchard at the Internet Broadway Database
- Norman Pritchard at IMDb
- With Florence Reed and Earle Foxe in (1921)
- Norman Trevor, 1927 portrait (archived)
- The search for India's first Olympic medallist Sports journalist Gulu Ezekiel's article on BBC News website.