Two South Africans - Episode 1 - Marcello Fiasconaro " .... with a Springbok in my heart"

On the 24th April 1973 Marcello Fiasconaro - the wonder-boy from Cape Town - equaled the South African record for the 800 meters.
Two months later, on the 27th June 1973 - at age 24 - he broke the world record for the 800 meters in Milan, Italy.
A legend in his lifetime & revered in Italy, Marcello’s world record for the 800 meters stood for ten years.
His Italian record for the 800 meters still stands today.
Marcello’s South African record stood for 25 years and was finally broken on the world stage a generation later - by Hezekiel Sepeng at age 22 heading a new wave of South African athletes.
On the 1st August 1996, Hezekiel Sepeng, became the first Black South African ever - representing his country South Africa - to win an Olympic medal when he took silver in the 800 meters at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
For Hezekiel - the young farm boy from Boskop - his triumph was the euphoric climax to a determination & destiny that saw his brilliance on the track win hearts & minds and overturn entrenched racist prejudice.
For South Africa his triumph brought confirmation of a new dawn where black and white athletes could finally compete on the world stage as South Africans representing their country - the new free & democratic South Africa.
Two South Africans is the combined life’s journey of Marcello Fiasconaro and Hezekiel Sepeng - two South African world champions - told against the tortured sporting / political backdrop of South Africa’s begrudging & grueling climb from the dark days of Apartheid to the afterglow of a new free and democratic post-1994 South Africa.

[@nosharpe]

Superb documentary. I never knew the achievements that Marcello achieved. What’s remarkable is his allegiance to SA not Italy.

[@roybean7166]

Grear documentary, apart from 65 olympics and 10 yr world record. !! But I remember him very well, I was a young schoolboy member of his club, Celtic Harriers. He was everyone's hero, maybe the " verkramptes" did not like him, the hairstyle looked like a betoger, as they used to say. Sa had 4 of the best 800 m runners in the world in those days. Fiasconaro, Broberg , Malan and van Zeil... apartheid kept them from dominating The track on a world wide scale.

[@jeffbland3635]

What an athlete Just wish I had the dedication at RBHS

[@carlpeterkirkebo2036]

Utter rubbish from the commentator: At 0:46 he manages to state that Marcello's world record stood for ten years.

[@carlpeterkirkebo2036]

At 3:26 we find out that the summer Olympics in Tokyo were in 1965 .... Wonder what the film crew have been drinking.

[@roybean7166]

@@carlpeterkirkebo2036 Well, yes, the guy made a bad mistake. 65 olympics, and 10 yrs world record ! But I enjoyed the documentary. I remember Fiasconaro very well. He was a great runner. A very flamboyant character, amazing story of the rugby player who came to athletics only because Villagers rugby club joined up with Celtic Harriers. Probably he was about 21 or so when his track career started. I was a young schoolboy member of Celtics at the time, he was everyone's hero, maybe the verkrampte Nats did not like him, he looked like a " betoger " !