As a Paris Olympics races into its second week, an action-packed Sunday in the French capital is set to thrill and excite across several different sports.

But competition on Sunday has been historically controversial in some corners of the Games in the past.

From Eric Liddell of Chariots of Fire fame, to modern day athletes refusing to compete on a Sunday, sport on the Sabbath has a long history at the Olympic Games.

A short sporting Sabbath history lesson

The ban on sports being practised on a Sunday goes back to the early 17th century, when King James I of England issued an edict — first to the county of Lancashire in 1617 and then the whole UK in 1618 — on what sports were permitted to be played on the Sabbath amidst a wave of puritanism that was sweeping across the country.

It was a response to the puritanism movement, focused on the teachings of Scottish Reformation leader John Knox, that banned all sport from taking place on the Sabbath.

Sabbatarians believe that the Sabbath (which is on a Sunday or Saturday depending on which church is followed) should be observed in accordance with the Fourth Commandment, which forbids work on the Sabbath because it is a holy day and should be given over to the worship of God.

The early puritanical leaders of the United States used so-called "blue laws" that forbade regular work on Sunday, plus any buying, selling, travelling, public entertainment, or sports.

The sports permitted to take place on a Sunday under law were archery, dancing, and "leaping, vaulting, or any other such harmless recreation".

The sports that were named as being banned were bear-baiting, bull-baiting — sports yet to be included on the Olympic program — and bowling.

The Scottish sprinter who wouldn't compete

Arguably the most famous instance of an athlete not competing on a Sunday — particularly in an Olympics context — is Scottish Presbyterian sprinter Eric Liddell, whose story was immortalised in the film Chariots of Fire and its iconic Vangelis-composed soundtrack.

Liddell competed in the 1924 Paris Olympics as British Champion in the 100m sprint.

However, as the heats of the 100m were set to take place on a Sunday, Liddell opted to shift his focus to the 200m and 400m — the latter being a race he had no real calibre in.

He also ruled himself out of the 4x100m and 4x400m relay events as these too would take place on a Sunday.

In the 1981 film, Liddell made this decision when he arrived in Paris, but the truth was he had several months to prepare, all the while having to resist the sporadic urging for the nascent British Olympic Association (BOA) to change his mind.

The BOA even asked the IOC to intervene and have the dates changed for the event, but they said nothing could be done.

Incredibly, Liddell won the 400m in a world record time, sparking one of the most romanticised and well-known of Olympic stories.

His Great British rival in the 100m, Harold Abrahams, who Liddell beat in the 1924 British Championships, won the 100m.

Liddell would go on to become a missionary in China, and die in a Japanese concentration camp in Weihsien of a brain tumour. He was 43.

Controversy at the 1900 Olympic Games

The evangelical Scot was not the first Olympian to change plans based on trying to avoid competing on a Sunday.

At the Paris Games of 1900 there was another controversy over Sunday competition in the long jump.

Polish-born world record holder Myer Prinstein, a student at Syracuse University and representing America, led the long jump competition after Saturday's first round.

Despite Prinstein being Jewish, Syracuse University flat out refused to let their athletes compete on the Christian Sabbath.

A gentlemen's agreement was put in place between Prinstein and his great rival and star of the 1900 Games, Alvin Kraenzlein, not to jump on the Sunday.

However, at the last minute, Kraenzlein reneged on his decision and did compete, leaping 1cm further than his furious teammate to snatch victory — his fourth gold medal of the Games.

Prinstein and Kraenzlein reportedly had to be separated after such a dramatic conclusion.

However, Prinstein still went on to have success. Having won the triple jump in Paris, he went on to win both the long and triple jump in St Louis four years later. He remains the only athlete to ever win both distance jumping events at the same Games.

The question of Sunday competition was so contested that reality blurred into myth in London's first Olympics.

At those 1908 Games, so appalled was American Baptist minister Forrest Smithson at having to race the high hurdles on a Sunday that he supposedly ran the race with a bible in his hand.

That is, unfortunately for the story, a myth based on a posed photo. 

For one, the race actually took place on a Saturday and two, Sunday sport was, at that time and for decades afterwards, a contentious issue in the UK.

It wasn't until January 20, 1974, that football was first allowed to be played on a Sunday in England, and even then, Sunday trading laws meant that tickets could not technically be sold for the match — admittance to games was technically free, but people had to buy a programme to get in.

Sabbatarianism still plays a part today

It would be wrong to think of this as being a situation that doesn't occur today.

New Zealand basketball players Charmian Purcell and Nonila Wharemate both played at the 2008 Olympics, but as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both did so refusing to play on Sundays, ruling them out of their clash with the USA.

In 2009, Scotland international rugby union player Euan Murray announced that he would no longer play on a Sunday.

"It's basically all or nothing, following Jesus. I don't believe in pick 'n' mix Christianity," Murray said. 

"I believe the bible is the word of God, so who am I to ignore something from it?

"I might as well tear out that page then keep tearing out pages as and when it suits me. If I started out like that there would soon be nothing left.

"The most important thing in my life will always be serving Christ.

"I want to live my life believing and doing the things he wants and the Sabbath day is a full day.

"It's not a case of a couple of hours in church then playing rugby or going down the pub, it's the full day."

Murray's decision ruled him out of Scotland's opening match of that year's Six Nations against France.

All Black flanker Sir Michael Jones also refused to play on Sundays, missing three matches at the 1991 Rugby World Cup as a result.