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From ‘Sprint’ to ‘Simone Biles: Rising’, stream these gripping series like it’s an Olympic sport.
13 Inspiring Sports Documentaries You Must Watch Before the Games Begin
From ‘Sprint’ to ‘Simone Biles: Rising’, stream these gripping series like it’s an Olympic sport.
The Paris 2024 Olympics are just around the corner, which means for two whole weeks, you won’t need to look for something to watch. With so much awe-inspiring content at your fingertips, all you have to do is tune in and fan out. But who should you fan out on?
These 13 powerful sports documentaries should give you some inspo, offering unprecedented access to some of the best athletes in the world who are also set to compete at the Paris Olympics. Be it sprinting, surfing, swimming, or swinging, there’s so many captivating stories worth streaming before the games begin.
1. Sprint
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Netflix has dropped the perfect series in the lead up to Paris 2024, chasing some of the fastest humans around the planet as they race in the 100 and 200-meter sprint. Offering intimate access to some of the sport’s biggest names, including Noah Lyles, Sha'Carri Richardson, and Marcell Jacobs, Sprint invites us to experience the soaring highs and devastating lows that track and field’s finest must endure to earn a coveted position on the podium. With six episodes to get through before the opening ceremony kicks off, all we can say is ‘On your marks, get set, binge!’
2. Matildas: Trailblazers
Where can I watch it? Stan
Matilda-fever swept across Australia (and the world) last year, with their epic penalty shoot out win in the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter final going down in history. Most of our ears are still ringing from the roar that emanated from every pub and home with a TV on that night, tbh. Almost a year on from the glory, our girls are going for gold in Paris, and what better way to celebrate them than with this newly released documentary showing how good they are at kicking goals – both for equal pay in sports and for literal championships. Is there anything they can’t do?!
3. Simone Biles: Rising
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Also known as The Greatest of All Time, Simone Biles is a force of nature. Not only is she the most decorated gymnast in history, the American-Belizean athlete also continues to inspire millions as a mental health advocate and sexual abuse survivor. Her highly anticipated return to the tumbling mat is due to take place in Paris, with this powerful four-part series offering a BTS look into her preparation while also shedding light on how she balances public pressure and newly married life.
4. Break Point
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Break Point served up plenty of buzz when its first season debuted at the beginning of 2023, following an elite group of tennis players including Nick Kyrgios and Coco Gauff as they competed in gruelling Grand Slams and tournaments all over the world. This year we’ve been #blessed with a second season, introducing some rising stars including Tommy Paul, Holger Rune, and Ben Shelton along with and current #4 ranked Alexander Zverev, who is set to defend his 2021 Tokyo Olympics gold medal this month in Paris.
5. Head Above Water
Where can I watch it? Prime
Australia’s swim team is no stranger to the podium, and this Olympics, we look set to make a real splash. Two gold medallists with aspirations to bring it home again are 100 metre freestyle world record holder Kyle Chalmers, and Bronte Campbell, who is about to become only the fifth Olympian ever to swim at four Olympics. Both are profiled in this insightful documentary, alongside retired Olympic icon Ian Thorpe and aspiring Olympian swimmer Cody Simpson.
6. Full Swing
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Created by the same minds behind Netflix’s high-octane hit Formula 1: Drive to Survive, this addictive docuseries follows professional golfers competing in all four of golf’s major championships: the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open Championship, and the Open Championship. Season 2 of Full Swing teed off in March, chronicling the shake-up caused by the unexpected PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger. But more importantly, it features upcoming Olympians Rory McIlroy, Tom Kim, Wyndham Clark, and Matt Fitzpatrick, who have all putted their way to Paris.
7. Make or Break
Where can I watch it? Apple TV+
Surfing made its debut as an Olympic sport in 2021, and judging by the IOC’s decision to bring it back at the Paris Games, it looks like it’s here to stay. If you want to brush up on your competitive surfing knowledge (and vocab), there’s no better way than by binging two seasons of Make or Break, a foam-infused docuseries that follows the best surfers in the world as they compete for the championship title. Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore, Gabriel Medina, Tyler Wright, Italo Ferreira, and Tatiana Weston-Webb all feature in the series, and will serve as familiar faces when they hit Teahupo'o in Tahiti to compete for the gold this Olympics. Paris is the city of love, not surf, after all.
8. Under Pressure: The US Women's World Cup Team
Where can I watch it? Netflix
This four-episode docuseries follows the world’s (other) most legendary Women’s football team as they chase their third consecutive FIFA World Cup title in 2023. Though most of us know how that pursuit ended, this series shines a light on the sacrifice and resilience of the team and how they navigated the public pressure and aftermath of their highly critiqued performance. Many of the players featured, including Emily Fox, Casey Krueger, Lindsay Horan, Crystal Dunn, and Jaedyn Shaw will take to the pitch in Paris.
9. Giannis: The Marvelous Journey
Where can I watch it? Apple TV+
Few athletes have a life story as captivating as NBA champion and two-time MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Born in Greece to undocumented Nigerian parents, Giannis grew up in poverty only to become one of the highest paid basketball players in history. This moving documentary tells his inspiring story with thoughtfulness (and at times, humour), leaving you with no option but to love the 7-foot-tall athlete with a heart even bigger than his wingspan. A few weeks ago, Giannis was pictured weeping after he received the news that he had made the national Greek Olympic team, which leaves you with no other option but to cheer for Greece now. You’re welcome.
10. Captains of the World
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Dubbed ‘Netflix's biggest sport-documentary ever’, Captains of the World provides exclusive access to all 32 Men’s football teams in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Many of these same stars will take to the pitch to kick for gold in the summer Olympics – and thanks to this docuseries, you might find yourself cheering for a team you wouldn’t expect. Delving into the moving backstories of everyone from Danish captain Simon Kjær to Brazilian captain Thiago Silva and Senegalese captain Kalidou Koulibaly, it burrows beyond the ball and into the heart of the game.
11. The Redeem Team
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Can they do it again? Before taking to the court for what is projected to be LeBron James’ last Olympics this year, travel back to the 2008 Beijing Games where the only acceptable accessory is gold. Seeking redemption after their unexpected – and for many basketball fans, unforgivable - loss at the 2004 Athens Olympics, this documentary follows the US men's basketball team as they set out to prove why they’re considered the best players in the world. Incredibly, LeBron is the only team member from the 2008 team to be playing 16 years later in Paris at 39 years old. Guess they don’t call him the GOAT for nothing.
12. Tour de France: Unchained
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Let’s change gears and stream a sport that’s the very definition of endurance: multiple stage bicycle racing. And not just any, but the most renowned multiple stage bicycle race in the world, The Tour de France. The tears, the triumph, the gravel rash. No pedal goes unpushed in this thrilling docuseries sprawled over two seasons, featuring 2024 Olympic gold cycling hopefuls Wout van Aert, Julien Alaphilippe, and Tadej Pogačar, whose shocking collapse on stage 17 of last year’s tour features prominently in this series.
13. Kipchoge: The Last Milestone
Where can I watch it? Apple TV+
This year, Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge will compete in his 5th Olympics for his 3rd Olympic gold in a row. No biggy. In this incredible documentary, join the legendary long-distance runner on his journey to break one of the last records in sports history by finishing a marathon in under two hours. Can he do it? Only one way to find out.
