Netflix docuseries ‘Sprint’ shows the fast but long journey to track glory

Sprinters devote their lives to races that last mere seconds and are decided by fractions of a second. The difference between victory and agony is infinitesimal.

Viewers can get a closer look at this fast but long journey with the Netflix docuseries Sprint , which debuts July 2. It features track and field stars like Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, and Shericka Jackson. Sprint is from the same team behind Formula 1: Drive to Survive , and this Box to Box Films production chronicles the road from the 2023 World Championships to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games beginning later this month.

Executive producers Paul Martin and Warren Smith described themselves as track fans and wanted to do something different from auto racing.

“In some ways, it’s the purest form of sport,” Martin told Awful Announcing. “People get on a line. Whoever’s the fastest at the other end wins. There’s something attractive to us about going into a sport that didn’t have all the intricacies of Formula 1. There was a real simplicity about it, just the eliteness about these athletes, that they are the pinnacle of the sport. That they are the fastest people alive.”

Smith said he was drawn to the project by the chance to reveal more about these track stars, not only as athletes but as people. The public is so focused on the Olympics that sometimes they don’t see the years of work leading up to the worldwide event.

“Every four years, you know who those athletes are,” Smith said. “But what are they doing in between that time as well? I think that was interesting for me. There’s a lot of talk about Usain Bolt (being the all-time best). In terms of the greatest of all-time female athletes, it’s still ongoing.

“There’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah. There was an opportunity to tell their stories because I don’t think they’ve been given the opportunities that they probably deserve. I think they deserve to get the position on a Netflix (series) to show not only what great athletes they are but also what great personalities they are.”

One of the biggest personalities and most recognizable faces in Sprint is Richardson. The flamboyant star has a distinct style that separates her from her peers. She’s gunning to be the first American woman to win the 100-meter dash since Gail Devers in 1996. She qualified for the Paris Olympics by winning the 100 meters in 10.71 last month.

Richardson will come to France as the fastest woman on Earth. Sprint educates the casual sports fan about what led her to this point, including her rivalry with Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson.

When asked about their favorite moment from the docuseries, Martin and Warren Smith don’t hesitate. For Martin, it’s immediately following Richardson’s 100-meter victory in the 2023 World Championships in Budapest when her coach, Dennis Mitchell, calls home.

“I’ve at this point watched it 100 times,” Martin said. “It’s the emotion of that moment when you understand what Dennis has been through, what she’s been through. There’s a moment where Dennis is on the phone with his wife. He’s in tears, saying, ‘This girl deserves everything she’s got.’ I think it’s one of my favorite moments of any of the shows we’ve ever done. It’s just so raw and powerful and just what sport is about.”

Richardson was denied a shot at competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games because she tested positive for THC, the intoxicant in marijuana .

For Smith, it’s Richardson and Mitchell, but before the race.

“She’d come out of the semifinal, and then there’s that quick turnaround,” he said. “It’s what a coach does best: making sure an athlete is settled and ready to go. I love that sort of intimacy that you don’t ever hear.”

Martin and Smith have many interesting characters with fascinating stories, including Noah Lyles, who is asthmatic. He will attempt to win the Olympic gold in the 100 and 200 meters.

Seeing the journey to Paris is the big selling point for Sprint . Smith hopes the docuseries will increase interest in the sport beyond the Olympics.

“I think track and field is a brilliant sport,” he said. “But obviously, it’s one of those sports that only gets the spotlight every four years, maybe every two years at the World Championships. I think they deserve a lot more, and I’d love to see that.”

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