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Pritchard brought glories to his Land when he represented India for the very first time in the 1900 Olympics. He was also the first Indian and first Asian to win an Olympics Medal. During the second official Summer Olympics in Paris, Pritchard came second in the 200 meters and second in the 200 meters hurdles. (The gold medal was won be Tewksbury of the United Sates and Alvin Kraenzlein of the United States, respectively).
In the 1900 summer games, Pritchard also set a world record in the second heat of the 200 meters hurdles which was bettered by Kraenzlein in the final.
Some other great achievement by this versatile athlete were:- he 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. Norman served as Secretary of the Indian Football Ass ociation from 1900 to 1902.
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), Clara Bow's father in Dancing Mothers(1926) and Tonight at Twelve (1929). He also appeared in several Broadway shows.
However there have been speculations since 2000 whether Norman participated as an athlete from India or Great Britain. 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. An excellently researched article is available here.
But the fact remains that Pritchard was born in India and took to sports, both football and athletics in Calcutta. And, Indian sports historians have long since considered him as one of their own, due to many reference books listing his two silver medals as those won by an Indian.
Should we consider Norman's medals as India's first in the Olympics, do leave your thoughts!
Achievements : First Athlete from India to participate in the Olympics. In 1900, he also won two silver medals.
Birth Date       : June 23, 1877 Birth Place      : Calcutta
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