Podcast Heritage Special: the making of Chariots of Fire
The England Athletics podcast has produced a special heritage-focused series all about the making of the film Chariots of Fire. Renowned former national coach Tom McNab, who previously conducted a series of interviews for our Coaching Voices series - is back in time to mark the centenary of the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.
As the 2024 Olympics return to the French capital this summer, it is poignant to look back at the 1981 hit film depicting the Games of 100 years ago, famously featuring the likes of gold medallists Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, and coach Sam Mussabini.
The first episode is archive audio. McNab - the film's technical director - explains how actors were selected and trained to be athletes, what was historically true and where artistic licence was used, and how the film creatively got around unique problems that arose.
The second episode sees McNab give listeners the opportunity to answer questions about the film as he details his excitement in watching the Paris 2024 Games, as well as suggesting which other Olympics would be suitable for dramatisation in a film.
Listen to this podcast and catch up on previous episodes through your favourite podcast platform:
Top image is a photo of a page in the British Olympic Association Official Report of the VIII Games 1924