419: A Champion’s Marker

The late, great Harold Abrahams and I share a common goal

Zachary Randle

From the crack of the starter’s pistol to the moment you cross the finish line, a bib number is an alter ego. Number 419 is iconic for me as the number of a great champion. In the summer of 1924 in Paris, a young Jewish athlete took victory in one of the most challenging events of the Olympic Games: the 100m. England’s Harold Abrahams, immortalized in the film Chariots of Fire, won the crown, wearing bib number 419. The first time I saw the film, back in 2011, I was 17. It stayed with me, and I came to understand the power of Abrahams’ story and how, in some ways, we walked (or ran) similar paths. Abrahams was born in Bedford, Wales, as the youngest of a family of five, but his…

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Canadian Running (Digital) - 1 Issue, July/August 2022

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