Pushing the limits

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Summary

Mark Eccleston is an athlete who has overcome tremendous adversity - this frank, fearless and often funny film tells his story. At the age of 16, Mark expected to have a trial St Helens rugby leagu...

Mark Eccleston is an athlete who has overcome tremendous adversity - this frank, fearless and often funny film tells his story. At the age of 16, Mark expected to have a trial St Helens rugby league team and on the brink of a career as an outstanding rugby player. Then, one fateful summer day he dove into a haystack and broke his neck. He has now been in a wheelchair for 20 years. After his fall, he remained in hospital for many long, painful months. Refusing to give up, he started playing wheelchair table tennis. He was determined to still play sports and soon took up wheelchair rugby. Mark did so well that he was the first British player to be invited to play in the States and became captain of the British Wheelchair Rugby Team. When playing rugby, he met Rob Tarr, another wheelchair rugby player. They kept a behind the scenes diary of what went on at the Atlanta Olympics. It's a tale of drink, girls and matches that - amazingly - they often won. If able bodies sports men behave like this, they take care few people know. But Mark then decided to test himself in an individual sport - tennis. The film shows what wheelchair tennis is like. Many players have to tape the racket to their hands as they don't have enough grip. Mark did not have the best serve, forehand or backhand in the game, but what he did have was sheer will and a motivation to succeed. He became one of the world's leading wheelchair tennis players and held the World No 1 spot for fourteen months. He went on to win a silver medal in the Athens Paralympics in 2004 and is now a leading tennis coach. He also lectures. Pushing the Limits is not just about sport but about the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

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