A film company has begun production of a documentary on the life of champion blind runner Henry Wanyoike, which will finish at the Standard Chartered marathon next year. Hong Kong-based Blue Lotus Productions will delve into the history of the inspirational Kenyan paralympic gold medallist. It will document his meetings with British running stars Paula Radcliffe, Sebastian Coe and Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie as he campaigns to raise money as ambassador to Standard Chartered bank's 'Seeing is Believing' drive to restore the sight of 1 million people over the next three years. Lord Coe, who led London's recent successful bid for the 2012 Olympics, has described Wanyoike as one of his inspirations. Race organisers believe the documentary will dramatically raise the marathon's international profile, especially as there will be extensive footage of the exotic route. The documentary is been billed as an athletic equivalent of When We Were Kings, the award-winning documentary about George Foreman vs Mohammed Ali world title fight in 1974. Wanyoike, 30, won the bank's half-marathon last year. He won gold in the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games for the 5,000 metres and gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres at the Athens Paralympic Games. Executive producer Sophia Harilela said a large part of the film would focus on Wanyoike's unique training regime in his village in Kenya, where he runs guided by Joseph Kibunja near his home 20km outside of the capital of Nairobi. 'His story is truly amazing and there is no doubt it will raise the profile of the Hong Kong marathon,' Harilela said. 'It's really about the human spirit's dedication to overcoming adversity.' Top film houses are scrambling for the distribution rights, director Stuart Rankin said. The producers will travel from Africa to Europe and the US during the next three months. Wanyoike suffered a mild stroke in April 1995 that left him blind.
