Winning

Nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, Paralympian tennis player Esther Vergeer, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, Olympian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, and track and field hurdler Edwin Moses are profiled in this documentary by Jacqueline Joseph. Most sports fans will recognize these respective stars, except perhaps Vergeer, who was paralyzed at age eight following vascular surgery in her native Netherlands and went on to become an elite athlete. Rather than concentrating on one athlete at a time, the film goes back and forth between the spotlighted athletes, mixing interviews with sports footage that highlights memorable matches, games, and feats. The relaxed conversations find each champion discussing his or her career and reflecting on athletic training, preparation, coaches, goals, confidence, nervousness, pressure, and much more. Past footage of the respective athlete’s achievements as well as captioned statistics and discussions with family members, friends, coaches, athletic rivals, and a sports psychologist offer background information. Sports fans will appreciate revisiting such crowning moments as Comaneci’s perfect score in the 1976 Olympics, Navratilova’s record-breaking ninth Wimbledon championship, Niklaus’s 1986 U.S. Masters win at age 46, Moses’s record-breaking 400 meter hurdle events, and Vergeer’s wheelchair tennis championships. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Beauregard)