Born in poverty in the ashes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after WWI.
As a child, works like a dog to help the family eat, and plays in the street with no shoes because his parents won't let him wear shoes for play.
As a teenager, the Nazis take over his country. WWII ensues.
As a young man, the Soviets take over his country.
It turns out he can run a little.
Before the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Zatopek refuses to travel to the Olympics with his national team, because one of his teammates has been barred from participating due to his parents' political incorrectness. The communist government draws up plans to punish Zatopek, make an example of him--most likely he would have been sent to the uranium mines with other bad actors, where the life expectancy was five years.
At the last minute, the communist government bends, and sends Zatopek to Helsinki with his teammate.
Zatopek wins the 5000m and 10,000m. Zatopek has never run a marathon, but he enters it anyway, and wins.
Zatopek becomes an international sports star and the symbol of Czechoslovakia.
Then in the 1960s, in the Prague Spring, Zatopek takes the side of his countrymen against the Russians.
The Russian tanks roll in. Zatopek is punished by being sent to the countryside and made to work as a laborer for several years.
In his old age, Zatopek is allowed to return home, where he reunites with his wife. They live in modest financial circumstances but are together again.
1989: the Soviet Union crumbles. Zatopek is finally a free man. All his old records have been broken, but his legend lives on. He is still the only runner to have won the 5K, 10K, and marathon--in the same Olympic games.
There is a pretty good movie about Zatopek available on Amazon Prime. It helps if have read Endurance or Today We Die a Little. There is also a graphic novel about Zatopek.
Just watched the Zatopek. It's an quirky little film, but not without its charm.