A Few Things You Must Know About India's First Olympic Medallist - Norman Pritchard.

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A first is always special and Norman Pritchard will always be remembered as the first athlete to represent India at the Olympics and win a medal. In fact, he won two medals.

Pritchard is officially known to have taken part in the Paris Games in 1900, the second edition of the Summer Olympics, on an Indian passport and an Indian birth certificate.

He bagged a silver each in the 200-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash event in the 1900 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Asian-born athlete to achieve the feat.

At the Paris Games, he participated in five events and reached the final in three – 110m hurdles, 200m dash, and 200m hurdles. He, however, failed to qualify for the final of the 60m and 100m dash, after winning the first heat of the 100m event.

But did you know that Pritchard was more than just an Olympian, donning multiple hats in his career.

Pritchard was a man of many firsts. He was the first Asia-born athlete to earn an Olympic medal, the first Olympian to act in Hollywood (under the screen name Norman Trevor), and the first to score a hat-trick in an official football match on Indian soil in 1897.

Early life in Kolkata

Norman Gilbert Pritchard was a British citizen who represented India in the 1900 Paris Olympics. He was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) on January 23, 1875, to George Peterson Pritchard, an accountant in Alipore, and Helen Maynard Pritchard.

Love for football

Pritchard was a natural athlete. He was not only a fine sprinter but loved the game of football during his formative years. And he went on to achieve distinctions in both disciplines.

One of his best-known records was when he won the Bengal 100-yard dash event for seven consecutive years between 1894 and 1900.

He also recorded a famous hat trick in an open football tournament in India in a game for St. Xavier’s against Sovabazar in 1897.

Later, he served as one of the main office bearers for the Indian Football Association - the organization that administers association football in the state of West Bengal, India.

From Olympian to actor

It was Sir Charles Wyndham, an English actor and theatre proprietor, who saw the acting talent in Pritchard.

Considering his advice, Pritchard moved to the United States of America (USA) and made his Broadway debut in 1914. He went on to act in 26 plays and 27 silent movies, becoming the first Olympian to do so.

He acted under the screen name of Norman Trevor.

Some of his finest works of acting could be seen in Jane Eyre (1921), The Black Panther's Cub (1921), Beau Geste (1926), and Dancing Mothers (1926) while Tonight at Twelve (1929) was his final movie.

He went on to appear in 26 plays and 27 films, beginning with the silent film After Dark in 1915 and concluding with Tonight at Twelve in 1929, the year he died aged 54 of a “brain malady”. It was later suspected that he may have had Alzheimer’s disease.