As a huge armchair sportsfan I was keen to see this when BBC 2 showed it in the UK. This was a story of a man fighting against almost impossible odds, the underfunding of the USA team, his slightly imperfect physique, and everyone telling him he was not good enough to win. But here was a man prepared to fight all of this and be a winner. After an unlucky fourth in the Munich Olympics he made his comeback and everything looked set for a rematch with Viren at Montreal. Tragically he died in a car accident before Montreal could take place. Years later it emerged that the Finland team which Viren represented were blood-doping at this time so who knows what the result would have been on a level playing field. What Prefontaine did achieve was to show how poorly amateur athletes were treated in those days and hopefully this no longer happens. Despite being British I found this film wonderfully moving and had tears rolling down my cheeks at the end. A film of bravery, courage and above all determination .... Bravo, a great film about an even greater man.
Review of Prefontaine
