After Surviving Titanic Disaster and Nearly Losing Both Legs, American Tennis Player Won Gold at Paris Olympics 1924

As the Paris Olympics 2024 nears, stories from when last time the Olympics was held in Paris keep coming around. And as fascinating as the sporting world is, several stories from the past are just a reminder of some of the unbelievable hurdles that athletes have overcome to win medals for their country. The story of Richard Dick Norris Williams is no different. After he survived a major 20th-century disaster, nearly had his both legs amputated, and survived a freezing cold, Norris Williams went on to win gold at the mixed doubles event in tennis in Paris in 1924.

It has been more than a century since the sinking of the Titanic. Countless lives were lost on April 14, 1912, when the nearly indestructible ship hit an iceberg and sank underneath the Atlantic Ocean. But there were those who survived the freezing cold of the ocean and lived to tell a tale. Richard Norris winning gold at the Paris Olympics 1924 after surviving the Titanic disaster is right up there.

Richard Williams survived a once-in-lifetime tragedy and became an inspiration for all

Williams, a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin, was born in Geneva, Switzerland before moving to the United States. He started playing tennis at the age of 12 and was a prodigy when he traveled on RMS Titanic. At the time of the incident, Williams was living in Cherbourg, France from where he boarded the ship. Little did he, or anyone, know of its doomed fate.

After the ship hit the iceberg and it started to go down, Williams jumped from a height of more than 12 meters into the -2 degrees Celsius freezing cold water. His father, who was traveling with him, perished when one of the ships’ hulls fell atop him. Williams swam to reach a nearby lifeboat and then onto the RMS Carpathia. Williams survived. However, his legs were frozen and the doctor suggested they need to be amputated. “I’m going to need these legs”, shouted Williams to the doctor, as per an article by Olympics.com.

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Later on that same year, Williams, with his almost amputated and severely weak legs, won his first Gran Slams title – the mixed doubles with Mary Browne at the US National Championships, the precursor to the US Open. This was the seed that would germinate into his glory at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Tennis glory at the Olympics with a sprained ankle

Fast forward 12 years, Williams had accumulated several glories and trophies to his name by then including several Davis Cups. But the icing on the cake was when he paired with Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman in the mixed doubles event at the Olympics. They beat their compatriots Marion Jessup and Vincent Richards by a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 margin. Williams hadn’t found success in the other tennis events at the tournament i.e. men’s doubles and men’s singles. But it wouldn’t hurt his legacy as an Olympic champion in mixed doubles event and a Titanic survivor.

He won the gold at age 33 with a sprained ankle and went on to play for another 10 years. Williams captained his team to more Davis Cup wins, with the final one coming in 1934. He retired a year later in 1935 at age 44 from Championship Tennis. As Paris and Los Angeles have been announced as the Olympic hosts for the 2024 and 2028 editions, more stories like this from the 1924 and 1932 editions might come to the limelight.

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