This Is The Perfect Documentary To Watch Before Paris 2024
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4 months ago
Run, don’t walk, to watch this one
With Wimbledon and the Euros under our belts and the Olympics right around the corner, if there’s ever a time to sit down and watch a sports documentary, this is it. Next on your watchlist should be SPRINT, a running documentary streaming now on Netflix.
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Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
SPRINT: What To Expect
How fast was your 100 metre sprint at school? While it probably wasn’t Olympic calibre, we’re sure it taught you one thing: every second counts. This is the thread woven through SPRINT, a brand new Netflix sports documentary from the makers of Drive to Survive following six world-class sprinters.
When the project was initially announced in summer 2023, World Athletics president Seb Coe commented: ‘We’re delighted that Netflix has chosen to turn a spotlight onto the lives of the fastest people on Earth. It takes a special talent, both physically and mentally, to succeed in a world where your fate is decided in just 10 seconds. As Muhammad Ali said: “The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” The same applies to our athletes and we can think of no better partner than Netflix to give our fans new insight into the fascinating high-intensity world of sprinters as they prepare to take their shot at glory at the World Championships.’
What Is SPRINT About?
SPRINT follows the journey of a group of world-class athletes from the 2023 World Championships to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Delving behind the scenes of this high stakes world, expect an insight into training, media scrutiny, and the mental toughness required to face the fierce competition involved in becoming the fastest humans on the planet – with the fate of their careers decided in just a matter of seconds.
Meet The Sprinters
SPRINT follows seven athletes in their journey to the 2024 Olympics. They are:
Noah Lyles
Noah is a 26-year-old American athlete who mainly competes in the 100 and 200 metre sprints. He won bronze in the 200 metres at the 2020 Olympics, and is a six-time world champion in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 x 100 metre relay.
Sha’carri Richardson
Sha’carri is a 24-year-old American sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 metre sprints. In April 2021, she ran 100 metres in 10.72 second, becoming the sixth fastest woman of all time; she also holds the record for fastest woman at the World Athletics Championship. Richardson was sadly ineligible to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after a urine sample suggested recent cannabis use.
Shericka Jackson
Shericka is a 29-year-old Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 100, 200 and 400 metre sprints. She holds multiple records, including fifth fastest woman in the 100 metres and second fastest in history in the 200. Jackson won bronze in the 400 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and then multiple medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: gold for the 4 x 100 metre relay, bronze in the 100 metres, and bronze in the 4 x 400 metre relay.
Zharnel Hughes
Aged 28, Zharnel is an Anguilla-born British sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 metre sprints. While he sadly missed the 2016 Rio Olympics due to a torn ligament, he reached the 100 metre final at Tokyo 2020, only to be disqualified for a false start. He also competed in the 4 x 100 metre relay, but the GB team was disqualified after teammate CJ Ujah was found guilty of doping.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs
This 29-year-old Italian sprinter is also a former long jumper who competes in 100 metre sprints. In 2019, Lamont decided to turn all of his attention to sprinting after suffering frequent long jumping injuries. As a result, he became the Tokyo 2020 100 metres champion (and the first Italian to ever reach an Olympic 100 metre final) also bagging gold in the 4 x 100 metres.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Shelly-Ann is a 37-year-old Jamaican athlete who competes in the 100 and 200 metre sprints, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. She has bagged gold medals for the 100 metres at two Olympic Games (Beijing 2008 and London 2012), with a silver Olympic medal for the 200 metre and 4 x 100 metre sprints, too.
Elaine Thompson-Herah
Aged 32, Elaine is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 metre sprints. She is a five-time Olympic champion, the fastest woman alive in the 100 metres, and the second fastest alive in the 200 metres. In 2021, she also became the first woman to break the 40km/h barrier.
