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American sprinter Noah Lyles wants badly to help the sport of athletics. He wants it to transcend sport and compete with the more popular National Basketball Association and other leagues. With Box to Box Films’ Netflix series Sprint: The World’s Fastest Humans, his wish may move slightly in that direction.
Just as Guitar Hero caused a massive increase in guitar sales, and the Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit increased chess participation, Sprint may draw fans from other sports. Sprint may also draw athletes who compete in other sports over to athletics.
Sprint draws on the allure of Reality TV and real-life drama
Docuseries like Sprint draw on the allure of reality TV while documenting an event that takes place in reality. Woven into the show are storylines that Box to Box Films witness and expertly re-create, but also leverage the real drama and human emotion.
Sha’Carri Richardson, now age 24, broke onto the athletics scene as a teenage phenom who lacked preparation or media savvy. She has grown up in front of the cameras and has now matured. However, you can take the wild child out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the wild child. She turns out to be a fantastic protagonist and is easy to cheer for. The relationship between her and coach Dennis Mitchell is strong and the bond is heartwarming. Mitchell says all the right things. She takes him seriously.
An added bonus in the Lyles’ storyline is his mother Keisha Caine. She could steal the show, but the story is about current sprinters. She is likeable and her smile surely melts hearts. Like Mitchell, Lyes’ coach Lance Baumann says all the right things and the emotional roller coaster for them is illustrated well. Coaches from MVP sport in Jamaica are also featured, brothers Stephen and Paul Francis. Since the shooting, Stephen has stepped down and Paul has taken over. The two continue to coach together at the University of Technology, Jamaica.
Synopsis
Multiple cameras and footage used from track meetings, follow athletes primarily from the US, UK and Jamaica and dive inside the lives of Americans Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Fred Kerley and Gabby Thomas, as well as Zarnel Hughes of Great Britain and Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, and Elaine Thompson-Herah. The docuseries provides an insider’s perspective on the high emotional stakes and mental toughness of the sprinters. The series exposes the athlete’s unique ways of dealing with the immense stress of trying to become a world champion. Next up is another series to be drawn up from next month’s Paris Olympic Games. If Box to Box Films’ Sprint is any indication, the follow-up should be a must-watch Netflix series.
The buildup to the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships featured the professional Diamond League series that takes place in 15 cities around the world leading up to a season finale and the world championships and Olympics when they are on.
Box to Box Films hit it out of the park with Sprint.
