The modern Olympic Games or Olympics are the leading international sporting event in world. Olympics are featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered as world’s foremost sports competition .
The first Olympics held under the auspices of the IOC was hosted in the Panathenaic stadium in Athens in 1896. The Games brought together 14 nations and 241 athletes who competed in 43 events. The Greek government also provided funding, which was expected to be recouped through the sale of tickets and from the sale of the first Olympic commemorative stamp set.
India sent its first athlete to the Olympics for the 1900 games. Indian national team did not compete at the Olympics until 1920. One athlete from India competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, thereby being the nation’s first appearance at the modern Olympic Games. Olympic historians tend to separate Indian results from British ones despite India as India was not independent, in a similar manner to the separation of results of competitors from Australia before 1901. One athlete, Norman Pritchard represented India in 1900.
The enigma around Normal Pritchard adds further to the mystique of the man who was born in Alipore, Calcutta, spent some years in jute plantations in Assam, but on a holiday in England decided to participate in the 1900 Olympics in Paris and won two silver medals in 200m sprint and 200m hurdles. He returned to India but permanently moved to England in 1905. Later, he shifted to the US to make a mark in Hollywood and acted in quite a few films there, taking a new name as Norman Trevor.
| Event | Place | Athlete | Heat | Semifinal | Repechage | Final |
| 60 metres | — | Norman Pritchard | Unknown 3rd, heat 1 |
None held | None held | Did not advance |
| 100 metres | — | Norman Pritchard | 11.4 seconds 1st, heat 5 |
Unknown 3rd, semifinal 3 |
Unknown 2nd |
Did not advance |
| 200 metres | 2nd | Norman Pritchard | Unknown 2nd, heat 1 |
None held | None held | 22.8 seconds |
| 110 metre hurdles | 5th | Norman Pritchard | 16.6 seconds 1st, heat 2 |
None held | Straight to final |
Did not finish |
| 200 metre hurdle | 2nd | Norman Pritchard | 26.8 seconds 1st, heat 2 |
None held | None held | 26.6 seconds |
Norman Pritchard is a “controversial” Olympian in that he is claimed by both Britain and India as having competed for them at the 1900 Olympics. The doyen of British Olympic historians, Ian Buchanan, notes that Pritchard was a member of an old colonial family and although he was born in India, he was indisputedly British. He was a solid sprinter and hurdler, winning the Bengal 100 yards title for seven consecutive years (1894-1900) and was also Bengal champion at 440 yards and 120y hurdles, which would lend support to the Indian claim. He was also at one time Secretary of the Indian FA.
Dr Otto Peltzer, the renowned German coach and athlete was among the first to remind us about Pritchard’s unique achievement of winning two silver medals in the Olympics. Peltzer said, “Indians should be proud of the fact that Norman Pritchard of India was the first from Asia to win medals in the Paris Olympics in 1900. That was a splendid beginning, a magnificent start for Asia.”
He died in California on the 31st of October, 1929 from a chronic brain disease.