A Second Chance: The Janelle Morrison Story

Serving up an inspirational tale of an athlete who overcomes enormous physical challenges to be able to compete again, Rob Kelly's homespun documentary focuses on a young woman who is severely injured in a car crash just as she's about to participate in the Ironman triathlon for which she's been rigorously training. With most of her major bones broken and vital organs pushed up into her chest, Janelle Morrison was put into a medically induced coma to allow doctors to repair the damage as best they could. It was doubtful that she would ever walk again, let alone participate in an extraordinarily demanding event that includes a swim of 2.4 miles, a bicycle ride of more than 112 miles, and a 26.2-mile marathon run, all done in order, without a break. Kelly's film begins with Morrison's training before the accident but focuses mainly on her efforts to overcome subsequent obstacles to fulfilling her lifelong dream. Interviews with doctors, friends, and relatives testify to the remarkable determination it took for Morrison to leave her wheelchair behind and begin walking without crutches within three months of the crash, and to resume her training a mere four months later. The decision to undergo still more surgery to remove metal rods that strengthened her joints but impeded her speed is the final stage preceding a return to competition less than two years after she'd nearly died. A moving portrait of the indomitability of the human spirit, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)