Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Sprint’ on Netflix, a Docuseries Look At the World’s Fastest Runners — Just In Time For The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

The Summer Olympics are coming, and few events in the quadrennial competition draw more excitement than the sprinting races. In Sprint, a new six-part miniseries on Netflix, we meet some of the world’s very fastest runners as they fight to set records and put themselves in position for gold in Paris this summer.

SPRINT: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We begin with a high-intensity montage of the featured runners talking about what it means to be the world’s fastest humans, interspersed with clips from previous competitions and sound-bites from former luminaries like Usain Bolt. It’s energetic!

The Gist: There’s a lot packed into a small space here–interviews with and competition footage of a deep roster of the world’s best sprinters, including Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Shericka Jackson, Zharnel Hughes, Gabby Thomas, Marcell Jacobs, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and more–along with context-setting interviews from retired stars like Michael Johnson, Ato Boldon and Usain Bolt. We’re here to learn who these people are, what makes them tick, and what it takes to be the absolute fastest people on Earth.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? It’s a little bit like Netflix’s NFL-focused Quarterback, and it’s a little bit like the pre-packaged segments NBC feeds you in the lead-up to Olympic events–it’s trying to quickly introduce you to these personalities and get you rooting for (or perhaps against?) them.

Our Take: The six episodes of Sprint promise to introduce us to a deep roster of the sport’s best–the introductory montage makes this much clear–but the bulk of the first episode focuses on competition between American sprinter Noah Lyles and Italian Marcell Jacobs.

Lyles talks about becoming the “next Usain Bolt,” and promises to be a major player in the upcoming Paris Olympics. He’s brash, bold and supremely confident, as one has to be when vying to be the world’s fastest runner, but swaggering image is softened by scenes with his mother, describing his childhood struggles with asthma.

The big drama surrounding Lyles is his step into the 100-meter fray; traditionally the most competitive event in sprinting, the 100m is, as Lyles notes “where the dogs go”, and a major shift from the 200m that he’s previously focused on.

As the athletes gather for a Diamond League event in Paris, Lyles’ biggest competition is Jacobs, the reigning Olympic gold medalist. We pivot to a home-life profile of Jacobs, who’s gone from a relative unknown to supremely-famous in the three years since his win in Tokyo, but also faces doubters who suggest his gold-medal performance was a fluke.

“When he is healthy, and when he is firing on all cylinders, he’s the best in the world,” commentator Boldon notes about Marcell Jacobs. “That’s why he’s the Olympic champ. But he hasn’t been close to that form since.” It’s a real tone-setting statement ahead of the competition to come.

Sex and Skin: There’s some incredible bodies here, but they’re keeping their singlets on.

Parting Shot: Lyles and Jacobs face off in the 100m at the Paris Diamond League event, and Lyles takes first. Is there a new favorite for gold in the men’s 100m this year?

Sleeper Star: Look, this is cheating–there’s a ton of real, current stars here. But as an American viewer who watched every minute of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, I couldn’t have been happier to see Michael Johnson here. (I still want a pair of gold track shoes, even if I’d be falling off the blocks while the real athletes crossed the finish line.)

Most Pilot-y Line: “An athlete 24 hours a day,” Jacobs says (in Italian, with subtitles), referencing his recent injury struggles. “I train all year round and every day to compete. So for me, not competing is difficult.”

Our Call: STREAM IT. If you’re a casual viewer who gets super into track and field for a few weeks every four years, Sprint is a great warm-up primer for the Olympics.

Scott Hines, publisher of the widely-beloved Action Cookbook Newsletter, is an architect, blogger and proficient internet user based in Louisville, Kentucky.