A 90min ‘no-holds barred movie’ on the 1992 Olympic 100m champion shall be proven on BBC1 and iPlayer later this yr
Linford Christie is about to speak solely concerning the highs and lows of his athletics profession – from the glory of successful Olympic gold to the affect of failing a medication take a look at after popping out of retirement – in a prolonged new BBC documentary.
The 1992 Olympic and 1993 world 100m gold medallist loved a rollercoaster profession and stays considered one of Britain’s best-known athletes. His life has not been with out controversy, although.
“I used to be born to run and no matter no matter obstacles they threw in my approach, it by no means stopped my perception,” he says. “I used to be by no means the quickest, I simply made everybody else consider that I used to be. I by no means focussed on the final race, all the time on the following one, which is why this documentary has been one thing utterly completely different for me because it has made me replicate on all points of my profession.”
Simon Younger from BBC says: “Within the late Nineteen Eighties and ’90s Linford Christie was Britain’s most well-known and fêted athlete. His profession isn’t simply a captivating window into the pressures of sporting success, however an perception into an period when informal objectification and racism had been unbound. That uncomfortable historical past – and the truth that he has chosen to interrupt his silence after 20 years – makes this documentary a novel exploration of a sporting icon and his legacy.”
Ron Roddan and Linford Christie (Mark Shearman)
The documentary producers say: “His journey has been removed from plain crusing. Linford suffered harassment by the police and sexual objectification by the media, in an period of unchecked racism and tabloid energy.”
The 64-year-old can be set to speak about his optimistic take a look at for nandrolone, which happened after his aggressive profession completed.
It’s, BBC say, “a cautionary story of how an illustrious profession could be introduced low by a single second. With unprecedented entry and by no means earlier than seen archive, this nostalgic and revelatory documentary examines the life story of a person who took on the world.”
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