KD Jadhav, Helsinki 1952, India’s first individual Olympic medal. Neeraj Chopra, Tokyo 2020, India’s first and only medal, that, too, a gold, in track and field. Let’s go back 124 years, to the same city, Paris, which is ready to host the greatest sporting spectacle, for the third time, from July 26.
In 1900, a certain man from Calcutta, Norman Gilbert Pritchard, travelled to England for a holiday and decided to take part in the Paris Olympics. Pritchard, an athlete, won two silver medals – 200-metres and 200-metres hurdles. India’s first Olympic medal? Many questions linger.
Who was Norman Pritchard? Ian Buchanan, one of the founder members of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH), in his journal, published in January 2000, shed some light on the mystery of the enigmatic ‘Indian Olympian’ who, perhaps, won India’s first Olympic medal.
Buchanan and his partner in the project, Gulu Ezekiel, have mentioned Pritchard as the ‘mystery man’. They say Norman was born on June 23, 1875, to George Peterson Pritchard and Helen Maynard Pritchard, in Alipore, Calcutta. The Pritchards used to stay in a house in ‘the fashionable Robbinson Road as stated in the journal, and Norman worked for the renowned trading company, Bird & Co.
Pritchard was an excellent football player and won the Bengal 100 yards for a consecutive seven editions between 1894-1900. He set a record in the 100-metres sprint of 10.0 seconds in 1898 and 1899. Though the purpose of his visit to England was not known and is not documented, it is believed he went on a holiday, as per an archive of the Athletics Federation of India. It was unlikely that Pritchard travelled to Europe to participate in the Olympic Games. For, that was not a piece of news that made its way, even to other parts of Europe. Calcutta was many miles away.
Pritchard joined the London Athletic Club, on June 12, 1900. He won multiple athletics meets and was introduced to international athletes during his participation in the AAA (Amateur Athletics Association of England) Championship. He faced top American athletes who were bound for the Paris Games. He participated in the Championship for both of his clubs, London AC and the Bengal Presidency AC. That may be a reason for confusion regarding his nationality.
The Championship served as the trial for the Paris Games. Norman came runner-up to USA’s Kraenzlein in the 120m hurdles and did well in multiple other events. He was selected for the Paris Games and he had his name registered in twelve events. Interestingly, in the Olympics Programme of Paris 1900, Pritchard’s participation in the 100m run was under ‘England’ and the 100m hurdles was under ‘British India’, the two events in which he won the silver medals. Reports in the New York Times mentioned him as the ‘Englishman’.
After the Games, Pritchard came back to India and served as the Indian Football Association (IFA) secretary between 1900-1902. The London AC records show that he was back in England in 1906 but no records were found after 1908 and his membership was ceased.
According to the works of Saradindu Sanyal, Pritchard didn’t return to India after his second visit to England but travelled to the United States. As per other texts on various platforms, he took a different name on reaching the States, Norman Trevor. Under this name, he starred in multiple Hollywood silent movies of the British movie icon Ronald Colman.
Some of his acting performances are showcased in Jane Eyre (1921), The Black Panther’s Cub (1921), Beau Geste (1926), and Dancing Mothers (1926), with Tonight at Twelve (1929) being his final film. However, the claim that he “starred” might be an exaggeration because MGM has no records of him making any films for the studio, and he isn’t listed in a complete filmography of Ronald Colman’s movies, as per Buchanan’s reports. But, if searched on the internet today, Nornam Trevor’s name can be found in the film’s cast list.
If Pritchard or Norman, did star in any Hollywood movie, he again pioneered in this category of Olympians turned actors. For instance, Vijay Amritraj in the famous James Bond movie, Octopussy or Carl Lewis in Alien Hunter.
An attempt was made by Gulu Ezekiel in 1997 when he enquired with the Calcutta daily, The Statesman and a reader replied to his letter. According to the answer, Brid & Co. didn’t exist then and the Pritchard House on Robinson Street was the site of a high-rise apartment building.
It will perhaps always be a mystery as to what happened to Norman Pritchard at the end and whether he represented British India or England in the Paris 1900 Games. However, according to earlier IOC texts, Pritchard’s medals were credited to India. But Ian Buchanan mentioned in his report that Pritchard participated in the Games as an independent athlete and not under the Indian flag. And as a matter of fact, India got IOC affiliation only in 1924. It is also to be noted, that Pritchard travelled to Paris using his Indian birth certificate and Indian passport, known as travel document back then.