Norman Pritchard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Athletics | |||
| Silver | 1900 | 200m Hurdles | |
| Silver | 1900 | 200m | |
Norman Gilbert Pritchard (June 23, 1875 – October 31, 1929) was an athlete from India who went on to star in Hollywood and Broadway.
Pritchard was born in Calcutta to George Petersen Pritchard and Helen Maynard Pritchard.
Pritchard was the first Indian athlete to participate in the Olympic Games. He was also the first Indian and first Asian to win an Olympic medal. He won two silver medals in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He came second in the 200 meters behind John Tewksbury of the United States and second in the 200 meters hurdles behind the legendary Alvin Kraenzlein of the United States. Pritchard set a world record in the second heat of the 200 metre hurdles which was bettered by Kraenzlein in the final. He reached the final of the 110m hurdles and failed to finish, and participated in 60m and 100m sprint where he failed to qualify for the final.
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 run and the 120 yards hurdles.
He studied at Saint Xaviers 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 England in 1905. He later moved to the United States where he became a silent movie actor under the screen name Norman Trevor. He acted alongside Hollywood legends like Ronald Colman in movies like Beau Geste (1926) and Tonight at Twelve (1929). He also appeared in several Broadway shows.
He died in Los Angeles of a brain malady.
