| A Step Away | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Roberto Ponce Co-director: Marcos Zurinaga |
| Produced by | Roberto Ponce |
| Narrated by | Orson Welles (English) Carlos Montalban (Spanish) |
| Distributed by | A Step Away, LLC. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 140 minutes |
| Countries | Puerto Rico Canada United States |
| Language | Spanish/English |
A Step Away is an Official Olympic Film, a documentary filmed during the VIIIth Pan American Games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. It was produced and directed by Roberto Ponce and co-directed by Marcos Zurinaga. The English language narrator was Orson Welles; Carlos Montalban narrated the Spanish version. The film was remastered in 2010.
Documentary focus on the performance of various elite athletes during the Pan American Games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Athletes showcased in the documentary include US team swimmer of Puerto Rican origin Jesse Vassallo; legendary Cuban track and field athlete Alberto Juantorena; Mexican diver Carlos Girón; American diver, Greg Louganis; and the Puerto Rico national basketball team, among others. Puerto Rican Basketball player Roberto Valderas sang the team's rap anthem in the film. At the end of the movie, these athletes expressed their hopes of being "a step away" from the 1980 Olympic Games; however, these hopes were shattered by the political crisis and the eventual USA-led boycott of the Olympic Games held in Moscow in 1980.
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José Rafael "Piculín" Ortiz Rijos is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. He played in the NCAA, NBA, various European teams, and in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN).
Sports in Puerto Rico can be traced from the ceremonial competitions amongst the pre-Columbian Native Americans of the Arawak (Taíno) tribes who inhabited the island to the modern era in which sports activities consist of an organized physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose for competition. One of the sports which the Taíno's played was a ball game called "Batey". The "Batey" was played in U-shaped fields two teams; however, unlike the ball games of the modern era, the winners were treated like heroes and the losers were sacrificed.
The Puerto Rico national basketball team represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation, The team represents both FIBA and FIBA Americas.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's fifteenth consecutive appearance at the Olympics.
Germán Rieckehoff Sampayo was a Puerto Rican nationalist of German descent, who served as president of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee.
Jesús David "Jesse" Vassallo Anadón is a former competition swimmer and world record-holder in the 200 and 400 individual medley, who participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics for the United States. In 1997, he became the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He was somewhat unique in the scale of his achievements as a swimmer, and in a tribute to his World Records in 1978 was voted Swimming World Magazine's "Male Swimmer of the Year". From 2004 to 2009, he served as the president of the Puerto Rican National Swimming Federation.
The 1979 Pan American Games, officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization (PASO), and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. Volleyball and some baseball matches were held in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The 1980 documentary film A Step Away showcased a number of athletes competing in the Games.
Flor Meléndez Montañez is a Puerto Rican retired basketball player and current coach. He is a former head coach of Puerto Rico’s men’s national basketball team, Argentina men's national basketball team, and Panama men's national basketball team. Currently, he coaches in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional as an assistant coach for Gigantes de Carolina.
Estadio Sixto Escobar is a multi-purpose stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The stadium was named after boxer Sixto Escobar, the first champion of Puerto Rico, in 1938.
Juan Báez , also known as "Johnny" and "El Indio de la Vía", was a Puerto Rican basketball player. He played from 1953 to 1969 in Puerto Rico's Superior Basketball League and from 1957 to 1961 with the Real Madrid basketball Spanish basketball team in Europe. In 1957, Báez was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and points leader. In 2007, Báez was awarded Puerto Rico's top sports award, the Puerto Rico Olympic Medal of Honor. Báez was also inducted into Puerto Rico's Sports Hall of Fame.
Teófilo "Teo" Cruz Downs was a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. After playing college basketball, Cruz played in Puerto Rico's top-level league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) with Cangrejeros de Santurce, Indios de Canóvanas, Mets de Guaynabo, Cardenales de Río Piedras, and Taínos de Mayagüez. Cruz also played in Spain with Picadero Damm, and in Belgium with Racing Club Mechelen.
Boxing competitions at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan were held from July 2 to 14 at the Trujillo Alto Coliseum and the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
Carla Cortijo Sánchez is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. She played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns and the Puerto Rican national team.
Marcos Zurinaga is a Puerto Rican film director, screenwriter and cinematographer.
Diego Lizardi Marcial was a Puerto Rican athlete specialized in gymnastics. During his career, Lizardi represented Puerto Rico in several international tournaments including two Summer Olympic Games.
Basketball competitions at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico began on July 2 and continued through July 13. The preliminary rounds were held at the Canovanas Coliseum and the Cancha Pepín Cestero, while the final round was held at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the territory's nineteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. Like on the 2016 Summer Olympics, Puerto Rico left the Olympics with a single gold medal, this time won by Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Other athletes fell short of their Olympic medal, with Steven Piñeiro finishing sixth in the men's skateboarding street park final, and table tennis player Adriana Díaz losing a match in the third round.
Puerto Rico is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. It will be the territory's twentieth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
