AllMovie

A differently-abled African girl becomes a champion swimmer in this upbeat Italian family drama based on a true story of Gadalla Gubara, a young Sudanese swimmer who despite a crippled leg, swam 22 miles in the 1974 Capri-Naples long distance race. She came in fourth. In the film, the story is set in South Africa and the protagonist is named Sarah. After her wealthy parents send Sarah to an elite school, she must face both racism, and discrimination because she is crippled. Still, she is encouraged to swim by her trainer Gershe, a burned out sportswriter with a drinking problem. He does a good job though and Sarah is soon ready to participate in the race. Problems ensue when the South African Swimming Federation does not let her enroll because of her disability and skin color. Gershe and his partner do not give up and somehow, Sarah finds herself in the race.