The best movies to get you into the Olympic spirit

The sacrifice, the hard work, the determination – none of it comes close to the glory of standing on the podium to receive your Olympic medal. Or at least, that's how we imagine it feels thanks to Hollywood depictions of real-life underdog stories about going for the gold. So to get in the Olympic spirit for the 2016 Rio games, we rounded up the most medal-worthy Olympic films of all time. <br>Warning: viewing may inspire dreams of ski jumping or figure skating to victory... <p>Photo of <em>Cool Runnings</em>: © Buena Vista Pictures</p>
<h2> <em>Eddie the Eagle </em>(2016)</h2> It’s hard not to fall for this feel-good underdog story about Britain’s best-known ski jumper, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, who leaped to fame at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Filming took place in Bavaria and Germany, not the Canadian city where Eddie (played by Welsh actor Taron Egerton) became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping to scores of cheering fans. Hugh Jackman plays Eddie's smart-mouthed coach in the heartfelt film. <p>Photo: © 20th Century Fox</p>
<h2><em>Blades of Glory</em> (2007)</h2> Will Ferrell and Jon Heder star in this hilarious tale of determination against all odds as two disgraced gold-medal ice skaters come together to compete as a pair in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The laughs are also rife from co-stars Will Arnett and Amy Poehler. <p>Photo: © Paramount Pictures</p>
<h2><em>Chariots of Fire</em>(1981)</h2> Tracing the class system in post-WWI Britain, this historical drama centres on two unlikely athletes who compete in the 1924 Paris Olympics, with the odds, including their religious backgrounds, stacked against them. It will leave your heart racing. <p>Photo: © Warner Bros</p>
<h2><em>Downhill Racer</em> (1969)</h2> In one of his earlier films, Robert Redford is in fine form (literally) as American downhill skier David Chappellet. After joining the US team, his overt cockiness toward life and the sport lands him in hot water. Gene Hackman co-stars as David's coach. <p>Photo: © Paramount Pictures</p>
<h2><em>Miracle</em> (2004)</h2> Kurt Russell leads the pack as real-life Minnesota hockey coach Herb Brooks, who formed the American men's team that competed in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York . Think <em>Mighty Ducks</em> with Olympic-sized aspirations. <p>Photo: © Buena Vista Pictures</p>
<h2><em>International Velvet</em> (1978)</h2> Starring Christopher Plummer and Tatum O'Neal, this film has all the feels as orphaned Sarah is sent away to England from her native Arizona. After forging a strong bond with her beloved horse, Arizona Pie, the duo is selected to compete for the British Olympic Team in the film adaptation of the 1944 novel, which is sure to tug on your heartstrings until the very end. <p>Photo: © MGM</p>
<h2><em>Cool Runnings </em>(1993)</h2> This Disney classic is a essential to any pre-Olympics viewing list. The laugh-out-loud film follows George Fitch (John Candy), a disgraced former Olympian, who co-founded the Jamaican bobsled team for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. If that sounds like an oxymoron, then it makes for great comedy as four Jamaican bobsledders try to acclimatize (literally) to the winter sport and chilly Canadian city. <p>Photo: © Buena Vista Pictures</p>
<h2><em>Prefontaine</em> (1997)</h2> See Jared Leto run for gold as Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine, the Oregon-born long-distance champion who fought for the rights of amateur athletes and became the first star athlete to officially endorse Nike running shoes until his untimely death in 1975 at the age of 24. A second film on the charismatic runner, <em>Without Limits</em>, was released the following year starring Billy Crudup. <p>Photo: © Buena Vista Pictures</p>
<h2><em>Race</em> (2016)</h2> Scarborough-native Stephen James stars as track legend Jesse Owens in the film about the American track and field sprinter who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The title plays to the both the Olympic sport and racial tension that pervaded the era. Keep your tissues close at hand for this tear-jerker, which also stars Jason Sudeikis as Jesse's coach. <p>Photo: © Focus Features </p>
<h2><em>The Cutting Edge</em> (1992)</h2> Set at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Calgary, this rom-com on ice stars Moira Kelly as a world-class figure skater who's paired with a washed-up hockey player (D.B. Sweeney) to face-off against the Soviets. Fun fact: much of the film was shot in Hamilton, Ont. <p>Photo: © MGM </p>
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