Noah Lyles in New York for the 'Sprint' pre-screening
The highly anticipated Netflix sports series ‘Sprint’ comes at the perfect time – both for the sport and for the digital age – according to multiple world champion Noah Lyles.
‘Sprint’ takes viewers on an exhilarating journey through the highs and lows of athletes’ lives as they battle it out for gold at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
‘Sprint’ shines a particular spotlight on the rivalry between Lyles, 2022 world 100m champion Fred Kerley and Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs in the lead-up to last year's World Championships. The series not only showcases the athletes’ personas, it also delves into their lives off the track.
It reveals, for example, how Lyles – one of several athletes featured across the six episodes of ‘Sprint’ – overcame serious health concerns in his teens to become the poster boy for sprinting. The growth and evolution of world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson is another key storyline throughout the series
“Being part of ‘Sprint’ was an incredible experience,” said world 100m, 200m and 4x100m champion Lyles. “When I imagined the day where a docuseries would be created, I didn’t always envision me being the first person it would be about.”
Earlier this month, the series trailer was beamed across giant screens in New York’s Times Square ahead of an exclusive pre-screening at the Nasdaq Building in New York, where some of the stars of the show, along with other key figures in the sport, were treated to episodes one and five.
The full series is set to land on the Netlfix streaming platform and screens around the world on 2 July.
Speaking at the pre-screening, Lyles said that this series comes at the perfect time for the digital age that athletes are living in.
“We are rockstars in the top 1% and we live in the age of technology and social media,” he said. “It’s a part of our lives and we need an example of how the sport can go with it.”
Executive Producer Paul Martin expressed his enthusiasm and pride for the project. “It felt like a gift,” he said. “We’re incredibly grateful to be able to go into this world. It felt like we really wanted to go above and beyond to make the best version that we could. There was just something about doing justice to this sport and what these athletes put themselves through. World Athletics opened the door for us, for whatever we needed to get this series done.”
Ato Boldon, the 1996 Olympic 200m silver medallist, lauded the producers of the series, and forecasted that it will help expand the oldest sport in the world.
“We know we have some of the best athletes in the world, but we also know we have some of the best personalities in the world,” he said. “I look at this and say that this is going to open up a range of fans who casually follow these athletes, it’s going to grow our audience and engage fans that we didn’t even know we could get.”
