we need one for distance so people stop calling distance runners weird😭

These series aren't for the super fans. They are about growing the sport beyond us nerds who care about training methods and record progressions. These shows have gotten my girlfriend into F1 and cycling, but it's a different kind of fandom than "we" have. She's not watching a 2 hour race and worried about tyre strategy (let alone 6-hour TdF stage), but she follows all the competitors on instagram and wants the same glasses Tadej rides in. I have a lot of the same criticisms you do, but at the same time, I'm glad these shows exist because they have pulled in enough people to these obscure sports where I can actually talk to my gf and friends at work about them. That's a win in my book.

Too much Lyles. Too much of Lyle’s’ mom. I just didn’t need to see so much of his story. The super aggressive attempt to be a stand out or a “star” is exhausting. Even some of his “trash talk” felt forced or formulaic. Would have definitely liked to have seen less of him and more training footage from the Jamaicans or the Mitchell camp. Oh and the Gabby segment was just boring. Even her friends seemed like they were reading a scripts and phoning in their interest in her life.

I mean you mention drive to survive being legit and that giving them credibility but most f1 fans clown on DTS for the manufactured drama and focusing on the wrong things. It’s for new fans/people who could be new fans. I think Sprint is a lot like that in a sense.

They should just make a documentary about the middle distances (400, 800, 1500) this olympic year (maybe starting after worlds last year). It's just way more exciting, because you actually can talk about some racing aspects. The Sprints are basically just a test of strength while the discussions about Kerr and Ingebrigtsen in the 1500 and their tactics leading to Paris have been discussed SO much. Add to that the three top guys in 400mH and the growing rivalry on the womens side now that Bol ran sub 51. And the 800 produced some of the best times since Rudisha. so yeah I think it's a lost opportunity, especially since so many people run long(er) distances, but don't sprint so it can be more familiar.

A documentary on the 1500 this year would be amazing with the Jakob and Kerr rivalry especially with Kerrs indoor WR and Jakobs 3:26 and the genuine rivalry there

As someone else said, the series is to introduce casual viewers to the sport, hence why they only focused on the *very* well-known names like Lyles, Sha'Carri, the women's Jamaican triplet, and etc. Instead of lesser known names (to the casuals, mind you) like Tebogo, Simbine, etc. I was shocked that they didn't include Knighton or Bednarek. Also, I know some people are vocal about it, but Lyles is the face of track & field right now, whether they like it or not. He has the biggest personality in the sport and is currently the best in the world, which leads to more entertainment and views. Secondly, I don't think a distance-focused documentary would do well. They choose the short sprints because that is the most watched track events by a landslide. Short & sweet. People's attention-spans are not long enough to continuously watch distance events, hence why some people call the distance events "boring".

Not including Tebogo was a miss

Personally I really enjoyed it, but all your criticisms is completely valid and I agree with all of it

I also see a docuseries being much more effective in events other than the sprints. The relays like you said, the multis, men’s jumps (HJ is really interesting rn imo) and ofc the 800m on both sides right now

In regards to you wondering why Knighton wasn’t shown here much, I think it may be because Knighton is a quiet, self-reserved, non-talkative, introverted individual. I can’t recall a time where he has answered a question in an interview with solid articulation and thorough explanation.

Definitely agree they should have shown more of the training and relay races. As a British athletics fan though, I loved that they featured Zharnel Hughes. We hadn’t seen a men’s individual sprint medal in over 20 years, so last year’s world champs was so exciting for us!

one thing the series did do is show the mental state of the athletes, before during and after wins / losses (esp shacarri, shericka and noah). that's something you rarely see

Them not talking about the 400H was wild!

I don’t think they built enough tension for the men’s 100m finals. Like, where was Christian Coleman? Coleman ran 9.88 in the semis, and Seville with 9.86. It felt like they were just completely focused on Noah. Coleman had already beaten him numerous times last year and that would have built way more tension if they focused on Coleman more too. From a viewer standpoint it’s as if you knew Noah was going to win because of how much they focused on him. And I completely agree about where is the training. They should have gone more into depth about how hard they truly work. The Star Athletics group would have been perfect for that.

i enjoyed it, i think you're watching it though the lens of a rabid track fan whereas it's designed to get casuals more interested. there's loads of content out there for the dedicated fans across youtube, socials etc. this doc was a hook to get your mom or your little brother interested. ik a lot of people that would mentally switch off as soon as it started talking about track technique + specifics, the same way you got bored during the personal story segments. though your criticisms are valid, sports nerds are just not who the doc is aimed at. a future doc that is a lot more geared towards people like us though would be FIRE. it just wouldnt be as successful

Knighton ran 19.49 in 2022 they were not filming then. Noah’s documentary was filmed by NBC/Peacock not Netflix.

Have you watched any other box to box TV series and why they're so successful? It's the behind the scenes in the house stuff that endears the casual person to start following someone's career. You then need to feature the athletes who can be most receptive to that new attention, lyles is ideal as he legit wants to bring athletics to the fore, be a big character, whereas there's athletes who understandably like to just keep their head down and grind (likely Knighton, etc) and may not have even gave permission to the production team to feature any of them. We need both types of person in the sport, but for growing it, it undoubtedly needs characters for people to be able to causally follow hero/antihero arcs. Then original fans can feel all superior that they know about more athletes than just the podium, but at least a conversation can finally be had about T&F in your random workplace and people actually know a little bit of something. If you watched DTS, you see Danny Ric is a hero/ super likeable and receptive to being followed, putting themselves out there, like lando too. Max wins much much more, but prefers to keep his energy for the racing, and automatically gets a bit of a anti hero portrayal. Shows like this all add to the theatrics for casuals to be able to follow to some degree, and those of us who like the racing can still watch the actual racing and find our in depth extra results and raw numbers, and training stuff, on channels that follow sessions and workout. Agree on the relay interest/drama potential, putting national rivals in the same team towards one goal is like putting ocon and gasly in the same team

Ya that show is similar to those nbc videos on the science behind sprinting. They don’t do any science what so ever. Like these people think a regular person wouldn’t care about the actual science or like the actual training

You wanting them to spend more time on Sha’Carri doesn’t fit within history. Before the 2023 season she was a sideshow of track and field and she had lost the respect of inside track. There’s also the struggle picking champions: Elaine Thompson, Letsile Tebogo and ShaCarri upset the a lot of plans. I’m sure there was lots of Elaine Thompson footage left on the cutting room floor and a lot of Sha’Carri footage purchased from her camp after her win. Tebogo medaled in both the 100-200, but was not included, but Jacobs was in disregard to his 2022 season. I think they did the best they could with humans.

Agreed. Too much Lyles, who I don’t dislike but he’s also not that likeable. Great call on lack of relay. I thought making a comparison of the three main Americans featured - Sha’carri, Noah and Gabby - in terms of their very different backgrounds would’ve interesting but they didn’t mention it at all. Overall a very forgettable series 🫤

What i was baffled was the jamaican sprinter who was doing good until she left for her husband to coach? lol whaaaaat and it shows because she didnt even make the team this year

I enjoyed the series on Netflix a great deal. For the context of what they were trying to do, I didn't need to see all the details on Sha'carri's situation of the past. There's other media out there for that. The series seemed to be focused on this particular time, with focus on Lyles and Richardson, leading into the Olympics.

People will always be unsatisfied about something 🤦🏽‍♂️ Track will be bigger and make more money because of this series. It's a build up for the Olympics plan and simple... It's not that deep people

Putting Lyles on the same level as Bolt was ridiculous. Disrespectful

I enjoyed the visuals, the music and getting to know some of the sprinters a little better. I agree that there wasn't enough substance and the series failed to capture a lot of the best moments of the 2023 season. I, too, was shocked that the relays got no airtime and that Noah was mentioned as a double instead of triple medalist. I would have loved to learned more about Fred's background and to hear more from Knighton, but I can imagine they are hard to draw out. Benarek has a moving backstory. He is often ignored but usually delivers in the big moments. So, that was a missed opportunity for sure. I would have loved to see more of the athletes' training and diets.

I think a lot of T&F fans still don’t understand how important drama can be to getting people invested into the sport. I see so many T&F fans complaint about athletes trash talking and show boating but they don’t understand we need that to build hype and grow the sport

This show hyped me up for Sha'Carri this summer though

Netflix made a mistake, and you have just made the same exact one... Where is Letsile Tebogo in your review? Come on mate!

Distance running is definitely something they can better cover and would benefit much more from the coverage. 100-200-400 are essentially "run fast," like you said, there isn't much tactically to talk about, so a doc about it comes off as shallow.

This is for entertainment, not for people who actually know stuff about track & field.

Personally liked it. I know it’s not very deep or anything, but it’s nice to relive moments and see more of some of my favourite sprinters

A good doc series right now is Clayton Young’s Road to Paris on his KZfaq

That Gabby and friends segment was so cringe

This series isn’t for the super fans. It’s to grow the sport. Saying Noah isn’t intresting is a preference. Lance is one of the greatest tf coach ever, glad they were able to pick his brain. Most people don’t even know Lance

With all due respect please watch it again 🙏🏽

This doco overlooks the dubious history of PEDs in sprinting. Features Linford Christie, no mention. Sha Carri - no mention of why she wasn’t picked for the Tokyo games. Lacks credibility as a result

noah lyles is just kind of cringe

mate i'm a big track fan too but this honestly sounds like gatekeeping. no wonder athletics struggles to grow

This was pointed out in another youtuber's video on sprint, but it's crazy how they focused so much on zharnel hughes vs noah lyles in the london diamond league 2023 when tebogo had one of the best closes ever and beat zharnel. Not including tebogo is an absolute travesty

Season 2 better have Syd and Bol, Letsile and Knighton !

love this channel keep up the good work man!

To be honest I actually loved it. Can’t wait for season 2

I thought the relationship between Richardson and her coach was a bit "odd"

Agree would have been nice if they added the times after the races.

They completely ignored Eryon Knighton, Ferdinand Omamyala and Letsile Tobogo

No Tebogo Mentioned Either. But Overall I Think It Is OK

Running fans: we need more people interested in track *anyone does anything to market the sport* Running fans: i hate this

I really liked it, but all your criticisms were good and fair.

I've been a fan of F1 for years and when Drive to Survive came out this was exactly my reaction. So yes, I knew what was coming....

It was awesome. Hope next season they follow Massai Russell and Tonea Marshall they have great youtube channels so they would be very interesting to follow

I really like and agree with your analysis throughout the video. I enjoyed it just to have more sprinting to watch. But after listening to your vid I agree. It would be interesting to hear producers comments and what it was like filming. To your point they could have sought out far more engaging characters. Damn, as much as I appreciate what Noah is trying to do for track and I love that he is an extrovert. He really is not as interesting, or physically attractive as some of the other sprinters. I love him, but just thinking business wise. To that point, people don’t step up to be transparent the way Noah does. He clearly was the most willing to have the cameras around. Either way glad you made this video, I enjoyed it.

yea it was very focused on two people however i think this was made for the casual fan

"I want to drink water because it is made of ice" lmao

I don’t really get it, some of the world’s greatest are giving us a behind the curtain look into their lives and perspectives, training, pre race, post race, mental, etc. If you don’t like that, just watch the meets and that’s it lol. So many athletes don’t give us this, and when they do, we trashing it, what are we doing

I agree with all of this! After episode three they lost me.

Same I didnt even watch the final episode

I hate how they made everything about “the competition” “I must be the best” “I don’t like my rivals” It’s how other sports work but not how track works. I can’t stand that view

thanks for the review 🤠

1! love ur channel

It was about a 3/5 stars . I need a distance series now starting my girl Rhasidat Adeleke

Too Noah centric

I watched it and enjoyed it if you’re a true track fan you will appreciate it

I enjoyed Sprint. I could have done without the drama, which seemed made up, but overall it was fun and helped me better understand track and field competition. Really enjoyed the coaches.

I loved it. What would you have changed?

I'm more of an MCI guy myself

@6:38 wasn't the other Noah doc on Peacock, not Netflix?

Realist video

He’s the one who made it happen the most so he should be featured that much

"NO ALLOWS" family matters BUT not in this VIDEO......W.O.W IS THE BEST

Bro it was very good, what you on abt 💀💀

I get wanting to see training, but I doubt any club wants to show their full methods on display for the competition.

So are you saying that because they didn’t cover any distance runners? It’s just the first season and whether you want to admit it or not we love the sprints more. I’m confused. As a super fan I was just appreciative that they allowed us behind the stadium. Give them time to get to it.

Just Imagen a Jakob vs Josh dokumentary

I was the most disappointed in them not including the relay. Literally the best women’s relay I’ve seen in a long time, men won too? And they don’t even mention it. Was this just lazy or,..

It’s just an intro like give it a chance

I would like they do at least a chapter about middle or long distance runners but trully i think it would be really boring, and i am a long distance runner 😂

Goat

Letsile Tebogo beating Zharnel Hughes in both 100 and 200 but they made the focus on him?

Good summary 👍

Realist video on the internet

I liked it but more people should have been in it but i agree with your points

The only reason I watched this series is because a friend said it was good. He was wrong... I agree with a lot of the points you made, but feel you could have added: (1) I get the appeal of Lyles and Richardson to a large swath of the American public. They're loud, arrogant, flamboyant and full of bravado. But the truth is, outside the US, this persona is more of a repellant than an attraction. The series would have been better had there been much less emphasis on these two athletes; (2) OK, I also get the fact that for several decades, the short sprints have been largely a battle between the US and Jamaica. But the landscape is changing. Yes, while they included Zharnel Hughes, this series failed to cover Botswana's Letsile Tebogo. Seriously?? The kid is on the verge of becoming a superstar! (3) The other night I heard an interview with Jess Hull after she set the 2000m WR and a few days after she ran 3:50 for 1500m. I came away struck not by what she had accomplished, but by her incredible grace and humility. I may be an outlier here, but in my opinion, the world needs to see and hear more Jess Hulls and less Lyles...

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I liked it. I feel like you're nit picking a bit. You really think the coaches wanted their practices filmed? The relay stuff was valid. I think next season might talk more about it. I enjoyed it. You wanted all this extra stuff in there. You watched everything in the sport and expect it all to be in this one show.

I think this guy has the hots for sha’carri🤣🤣🤣🤣

Well going by what you say then sprint needs a real do over then.kmt.

Couldnt you say the name Tebogo ? at least once ? Cmon man...

So. Make your own documentary.

we needed a series on the 1500, the 100 just isn't that interesting of a race

I don't care about relays, I'm glad they ignored it. I respect you don't agree with this, but I don't think it is necessary to include side catagories like relay, hurdles, egg and spoon or the 3-legged-race.

That Shari person is full of herself. She needs to learn some humility and respect.

I prefer DTS, Tour de France: Unchained & Breakpoint (the tennis one), found the storytelling, editing etc better on those shows. SPRINT was really repetitive & didn’t give much insight. It got better, the last episode was alright but overall… meh.

Bunch of trashy/over-rated athletes were in Sprint.

Cope

Yanks need to inject drama and emotional nonsense into all their shows. I can't watch them. It's fake, contrived, lazy and exhausting.

Episode 1 was the only one watchable. Noah is legitimately interesting. The rest was blah.

No one really cares what you think. Everyone has their own ability to decide what is important to them.