List of films about the sport of athletics

The following is a list of films featuring the sport of athletics, including track and field.

List

Title	Year	Genre	Event(s)	Notes
College	1927	Comedy		Silent film with Buster Keaton trying multiple sports. [1]
Olympic Games	1927	Comedy		Our Gang children's version of the Olympics. [2]
Local Boy Makes Good	1931	Comedy	Sprints	Shy librarian (Joe E. Brown) joins a college track team to impress a girl. [3]
Million Dollar Legs	1932	Comedy	Shot put	W. C. Fields fable of team from "Klopstokia" competing at the 1932 Summer Olympics. [4]
A Million to One	1937	Drama	Decathlon	After his dad is stripped of an Olympic gold medal, Johnny Kent trains to win one. [5]
The Bob Mathias Story	1954	Biographical	Decathlon	A look at career of two-time Olympic gold medalist Bob Mathias. [6]
Geordie	1955	Comedy	Hammer	Story of Scotsman out to get to the Summer Olympics. [7]
It Happened in Athens	1962	Comedy	Marathon	Jayne Mansfield in story set at 1896 Olympics in Greece. [8]
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner	1962	Drama	Distance running	Acclaimed film from UK starring Tom Courtenay. [9]
Billie	1965	Comedy	Sprints	Patty Duke as a high school athlete who competes with boys. [10]
Walk, Don't Run	1966	Comedy	Race walking	Final film of Cary Grant, set during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. [11]
The Games	1970	Drama	Marathon	Ryan O'Neal and Michael Crawford as fictional distance runners. [12]
The World's Greatest Athlete	1973	Comedy	Track	Disney tale of a jungle boy who becomes a star athlete. [13]
The Loneliest Runner	1976	Drama	Marathon	Made for TV, written and directed by Michael Landon.
See How She Runs	1978	Drama	Marathon	Made for TV
Crossbar	1979	Drama	High Jump	Made for TV
The Jericho Mile	1979	Drama	Mile	Made for TV about a prisoner trying to qualify for the Olympics.
Our Winning Season	1979	Drama	Mile	Story of a high school senior during time of the Vietnam War.
Running	1979	Drama	Marathon	Michael Douglas as fictional Olympic distance-running hopeful.
Goldengirl	1979	Sci-fi	Sprints	A scientifically enhanced girl (Susan Anton) trains for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
A Shining Season	1979	Biographical	Running	True story of John Baker, a girls' track coach dying of cancer.
Chariots of Fire	1981	Drama	Sprints	True story set during 1924 Olympics. Four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Graduation Day	1981	Horror	Track	Slasher film about school's track athletes being murdered.
Personal Best	1982	Drama	Track	Mariel Hemingway in fictional story of women's track and field.
Running Brave	1983	Drama	10,000 m	Biographical film on the life and career of Billy Mills, starring Robby Benson.
On the Edge	1985	Drama	Trail running	A distance runner (Bruce Dern) fights for amateurs' rights during California's Dipsea Race.
The Jesse Owens Story	1985	Biographical	Sprints, long jump	True story of legendary 1930s athlete Jesse Owens, portrayed by Dorian Harewood.
Cracked Up	1987	Drama	Track	A high school athlete has a serious problem with cocaine.
Run for Your Life	1988	Drama/Thriller	Marathon	Italian-British production starring David Carradine.
The Four Minute Mile	1988	Biographical	Mile	Record-breaking run of Roger Bannister, made for television.
Across the Tracks	1991	Drama	Track	Brad Pitt and Rick Schroeder as brothers who compete in high school track and field.
Forrest Gump	1994	Comedy-drama	Running	Forrest Gump, among other things, runs repeatedly across the continental United States.
Pentathlon	1994	Thriller	Pentathlon	An East German pentathlete (Dolph Lundgren) defects to USA, where his former coach, now a neo-Nazi, finds and harasses him.
Run for the Dream: The Gail Devers Story	1996	Biographical	100m H	True story of hardships and success of great U.S. athlete Gail Devers.
Prefontaine	1997	Biographical	Running	True story of Oregon middle distance runner Steve Prefontaine, played by Jared Leto.
Without Limits	1998	Biographical	Running	Another version of life and death of Steve Prefontaine, starring Billy Crudup.
Endurance	1999	Drama	Distance running	Biographical film about Haile Gebrselassie.
The Long Run	2000	Drama	Ultramarathon	Story of the Comrades Marathon, an annual 55-mile foot race in South Africa.
Pumpkin	2002	Comedy		Christina Ricci in story about a developmentally challenged youth.
Hitler's Pawn – The Margaret Lambert Story	2004	Documentary	High Jump	True story of Gretel Bergmann, kept out of 1936 Olympics for being Jewish, replaced by an athlete who turned out to be a man. Later dramatized in Berlin 36 .
Miracle Run	2004	Family	Cross country	A young autistic boy (Zac Efron) becomes interested in cross-country running.
Four Minutes	2005	Biographical	Mile	Made for TV. Chronicles the successful quest of Roger Bannister to break the four-minute barrier in the mile.
The Ringer	2005	Comedy		Johnny Knoxville bad-taste spoof of Special Olympics.
Saint Ralph	2005	Drama	Marathon	A 15-year-old boy attempts to run in the 1954 Boston Marathon.
Terry	2005	Documentary	Road running	Made for TV. Documents the Marathon of Hope, 1980 attempt of cancer patient and amputee Terry Fox to run across Canada.
Run Fatboy Run	2007	Romantic comedy	Marathon	David Schwimmer-directed comedy about an out-of-shape British man (Simon Pegg) who enters a marathon.
Spirit of the Marathon	2007	Documentary	Marathon	Follows six runners training for the 2005 Chicago Marathon
Racing for Time	2008		Track	Made for TV. Based on a true story about youths in a correctional facility.
Salute	2008	Documentary	Multiple events	Australian film looking back at 1968 Mexico City Olympics, focusing on Peter Norman, who stood alongside Tommie Smith and John Carlos in support of their protest after winning medals in the 200 metres. Directed by Norman's nephew Matt Norman.
The One Man Olympics	2008	Biographical	Track	Biographic of China's first ever Olympian Liu Changchun and his journey to compete in 1932 Summer Olympics.
Berlin 36	2009	Drama	High jump	Top athlete Gretel Bergmann is excluded from Berlin Olympics for being Jewish.
Chasing a Dream	2009	Drama	Mile run	TV film on emotionally scarred boy who attempts to run a sub-4-minute mile.
The Runner	2009		Ultra Trail
Into the Wind	2010	Documentary	Road running	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Another look at Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope, co-directed by NBA's Steve Nash, who followed Fox's run as a child.
Marion Jones: Press Pause	2010	Documentary	Sprints	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. On career of Marion Jones, her 2007 admission of performance-enhancing drug use, and subsequent prison sentence.
The Robber	2010	Drama	Marathon	German film about an Austrian bank-robbing runner.
Paan Singh Tomar	2012	Drama	Steeplechase	Indian film based on the true story of an athlete Paan Singh Tomar.
9.79*	2012	Documentary	100 m	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. On men's 100 metres of 1988 Olympics, where Ben Johnson set world record but was disqualified after positive test for steroids.
Fast Girls	2012	Drama	Sprints	British film about two women sprinters.
Ethir Neechal	2013	Comedy/Drama	Marathon	Indian film about a man who tries to accomplish something in life by running a marathon.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag	2013	Drama	Running	Indian film based on true story of an athlete Milkha Singh.
Runner	2013	Documentary	Distance Running	Made for TV as part of ESPN's Nine for IX series. The stunning collision that defined the one thing missing from the otherwise brilliant career of distance runner Mary Decker
Spirit of the Marathon II	2013	Documentary	Marathon	Runners train for the 2012 Rome Marathon
Unbroken	2014	Biographical	Running	An Olympic runner becomes and survives being a World War II prisoner of war
4 Minute Mile	2014	Drama	Mile Run	A coach decides to train a student with natural athletic talent. Tragedy strikes, forcing the student to confront everything that has been holding him back.
McFarland, USA	2015	Biographical	Cross country	Kevin Costner portrays Jim White, who built the predominantly Latino McFarland High School into a California cross country power.
Race	2016	Biographical	Sprints	A new dramatization of the life of Jesse Owens, highlighted by the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Tracktown	2016	Drama	Long distance running	Training for the Olympics
The Infinite Race	2020	Documentary	Ultramarathon	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. The story of the Tarahumara, an indigenous people in Mexico famed for their long-distance running culture who inspired an worldwide ultrarunning craze, while at the same time being ravaged by the country's drug wars.
The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius	2020	Documentary	Sprints	Four-part film made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series and premiering on the ESPN+ streaming service. Examines Oscar Pistorius from his childhood in the last days of apartheid, to worldwide celebrity as the first double-leg amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics, to convicted murderer.
Zero to Hero	2021	Biographical	Sprints	Hong Kong film based on true story of para-athlete So Wa Wai
Listen	2023	Documentary	Multi-event	ESPN+ film documenting the multiple failures of University of Utah officials to address concerns raised by Utes heptathlete Lauren McCluskey, culminating in her 2018 murder.

See also

• Sport of athletics portal

• List of sports films
• List of highest grossing sports films

References

1. "Buster Keaton and the Hard Work of Failure". Silver Screenings. 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
2. "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". www.silentera.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
3. "The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993:Local Boy Makes Good". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
4. Denby, David (2010-05-31). "The Seat of Power". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved 2024-11-03.
5. "A Million to One". Archived from the original on 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
6. "The Bob Mathias Story". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
7. "Wee Geordie". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
8. "It Happened In Athens 1962 DVD". The Old Movie Shop. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
9. "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)". BFI. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
10. "Billie". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
11. "Walk, Don't Run". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
12. "The Games". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
13. "The World's Greatest Athlete". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.