The Athlete
Running the streets of Rome in 1960, an unknown, barefooted Ethiopian man stunned the world by winning Olympic gold in the marathon. Overnight, Abebe Bikila became a sports legend. A hero in his own country and to the continent, Bikila was the first African to win a gold medal, and four years later in Tokyo would become the first person in history to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the marathon.
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Cast
17 people
Rasselas Lakew
Abebe Bikila
No other roles listed
Dag Malmberg
Onni
Known for
The Bridge
Sea Fever
Ruta Gedmintas
Charlotte
Known for
The Strain
His Dark Materials
Abba Waka Dessalegn
. The Priest
No other roles listed
Johnny Ashenafi
Coach Nega
Also in
Phat Girlz
Journey to Lasta
Woyneshet Belachew
Telephone Operator
No other roles listed
Abebe Bikila
Himself (archive footage)
Arne Boysen
Gunnar Krogsveen
No other roles listed
Yeneneh Ezra
Emperor Haile Selassie
No other roles listed
Fekadu Gemechu
Uncle
No other roles listed
Mersha Getahun
Bartender
Also in
Emeye Biretua
Tigist Gurma
Motel Manager
No other roles listed
Davey Frankel Director · Rasselas Lakew Director Mikael Awake Writer
First release March 9, 2009 · Produced in Ethiopia, Germany, United States · Languages Amharic, English
Production
Instinctive Film
Production
AV Patchbay
Production
El Atleta
Production
Ethiopia · Germany · United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
Amharic · English
Release dates
Italy · March 9, 2009
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
Ireland
June 29, 2012 · Digital
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Some details come from TheTVDB.