The Athlete (Amharic: እትሌቱ, Atletu) is a 2009 Ethiopian drama film directed by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew.

[4] A mixture of fiction and stock footage, The Athlete is a portrait of the marathon runner from Ethiopia, Abebe Bikila.

In 1960, he participated in the Rome Olympic Games as a complete unknown.

However, the son of a shepherd ran barefoot and won the gold medal.

A few years later, he suffered a car accident and lost the use of his legs.