The first in a new series of programmes about famous athletes who have taken part in the summer Olympic Games this century. The Olympiad series begins with The Marathon and traces the history, exhaustion, emotion and excitement of this classic event over 26 miles and 385 yards.
American Bud Greenspan who wrote, produced and directed The Olympiad series has visited every Olympic city since the birth of the modern Games in Athens in 1896 and has examined 2½ million feet of Olympic film before making this series.
The Marathon recalls some of the legendary masters of this gruelling race -
Doeando Pietri, Jim Peters, Emil Zatopek - and highlights the ultimate hero,
Abebe Bikila, the barefoot Ethiopian who won the marathon gold in 1960 and 1964. Cappy Productions Inc. (New York) and 20th Century-Fox Television