The Athlete

The year is 1960 and the Olympic marathon is being run in Rome. An Ethiopian nobody has heard of takes part. He runs the stones of the road barefoot. To everyone’s astonishment he wins the race. His name is Abebe Bikila. Overnight he enters the history of sport. In his country and on his continent he is taken for a hero. Bikila was the first African to win an Olympic gold medal. Four years later he runs again in Tokyo. There he takes the gold as well. He thus became the first to win consecutive Olympic marathons. The film tells of his rise and of what came after. The life of the athlete does not run smoothly. The account also shows the years beyond the winning. Rasselas Lakew and Dag Malmberg appear in the ninety two minute film, an Ethiopian, German and American co-production Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew finished in 2009.