New Documentary 'Sprint' Explores The World's Fastest People

Summary

Podcast Summary

ALL OF IT with WNYC
Episode: New Documentary 'Sprint' Explores The World's Fastest People
Host: Khusha Navadar (for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Warren Smith (Executive Producer, Sprint)
Date: August 14, 2024

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Overview

This episode delves into the new Netflix docuseries Sprint, which follows seven elite track and field athletes from around the world on their journey to the 2024 Paris Olympics. The conversation explores the personalities, training regimens, and mental challenges faced by these exceptional sprinters—focusing especially on stars like Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Executive producer Warren Smith joins to discuss why the world of sprinting is so compelling, how the series was made, and what’s in store for future seasons.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Why Sprints, Why Now?

• Choosing Sprinting as a Subject:
  • Warren Smith describes meeting with Netflix and realizing that while historic sprinting legends like Carl Lewis, Linford Christie, and Usain Bolt were household names, the current generation’s stars were less publicly known. This inspired the series, aiming to showcase these athletes' stories year-round—not just every four years.
    • “We didn’t really know who … were the men and women that were now setting the records or winning the golds. And we wanted to sort of look into that world.” (Warren Smith, 02:47)

Portraying Athletes Beyond the Track

• Humanizing Superstars:
  • The documentary embeds with athletes from different countries—including the US, Jamaica, Italy, and the UK—capturing their lives, training, and personalities.
  • Smith emphasizes the intent to showcase not only athletic prowess but “a lot of personality and character in this world.” (03:33)

The Story of Noah Lyles

• Overcoming Adversity:
  • A moving segment features Noah as a child struggling with asthma, supported by his mother Keisha, illustrating the roots of his resilience:
    • “One day this is gonna go away and your life is not gonna always be this way. … I knew we were going to beat it.” (Keisha Kane, 05:18)
  • Lyles’ drive is highlighted as a family legacy: both parents and his brother are athletes. His showmanship is balanced by a down-to-earth work ethic.
    • “He likes to put himself front and center, but I think he's a very down, down to earth individual.” (Warren Smith, 06:19)

Accessing Athletic Worlds

• Gaining Athlete Trust:
  • Despite sometimes difficult logistics, Smith found that track athletes were keen to be featured, seeing the opportunity to bring more attention to their sport, which doesn't offer the same year-round spotlight as others.

Notable Athlete Stories

• Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: Devoted fan base, featured despite missing Paris Olympics.
• Usain Bolt: Reflects on the newer generation’s showmanship and will to break records.
• Sha’Carri Richardson:
  • Constantly in the media spotlight; relies on coach Dennis Mitchell and a strong support network to manage pressures.
    • “Who’s the fastest?” (Coach Dennis to Sha’Carri, 15:10)
  • The series captures pivotal, vulnerable moments, such as her emotional shift before the 100m final.

Mental Health and Athlete Vulnerability

• Pressure and Individualism:
  • Sprinting is both team-oriented in preparation and intensely solitary in competition.
  • Noah Lyles’ openness about mental health—seeking therapy to maintain the mental edge—is highlighted as crucial for athletes at this level.
    • “The mind is a powerful thing. If they can … make sure they’re in the best mental state when they line up on the line, they’re going to be in the best place to try and win the race.” (Warren Smith, 12:05)

Portraying Defeat and Resilience

• Addressing Setbacks:

  • Smith stresses the importance of showing athletes at their lowest moments, like Marcel Jacobs’ injury-riddled season.
    • “He watched the show and went, ‘You captured it perfectly. It’s exactly how it played out for me.’” (Warren Smith, 17:44)
  • Athletes’ responses to defeat and their comeback journeys will also drive season two narratives.

• Sharika Jackson’s Philosophy:

  • On bouncing back after a tough defeat:
    • “You have to know how to bounce back from a bad race or a race that you think you could have executed properly. The race already gone, there's nothing you can do.” (Sharika Jackson, 19:29)

Editing and Story Selection

• What Makes the Cut:
  • Some stories inevitably end up on the cutting room floor, but may resurface in future seasons. The aim is to focus not just on the victors, but on emotionally powerful near-misses and personal stories.

Diversity and Representation

• Widening the Spotlight:
  • A listener’s text prompts discussion on featuring sprinters from small islands with limited resources, like St. Lucia and Grenada. Smith confirms future focus on such athletes, including Paris gold medalist Julian Alfred (St. Lucia).

Behind the Scenes at Paris

• Producer’s Perspective:
  • Smith shares the thrill of seeing multiple athletes he’d filmed line up for the Olympic 100m finals, now with their stories ready to tell.

Inspiration and Technique

• Personal Takeaways:
  • Asked if the show inspired him to run, Smith jokes about winning his child’s school sports day—but acknowledges the athletes’ physical power is beyond him:
    • “The power that they generate through the track, pushing down, that force is just something that, you know, you cannot believe...” (Warren Smith, 25:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Usain Bolt on Lyles:
  “If he break the world record, I'm not going to be happy. I'm not going to, meant to be broken.” (Usain Bolt, 10:20)

• Noah Lyles’ mother’s belief:
  “We're going to create the best version of Noah we can create.” (Keisha Kane, 05:27)

• On mental health:
  “Noah spoke quite freely … about seeking help from a therapist and talking to people about … how can he help himself be stronger mentally?” (Warren Smith, 12:19)

• On portraying defeat:
  “Not everybody's going to be a winner. … There’s going to be a lot of people that are disappointed with their final result. But navigating that wasn't too tricky, because I think people realize that I’ve got to go again.” (Warren Smith, 17:44)

• On physical power in sprinting:
  “You think you need to be light, but … the power that they generate through the track, pushing down, that force is just something that, you know, you cannot believe.” (Warren Smith, 25:05)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:47 | Why focus on modern sprinters; inspiration for the series | | 04:55 | Clip: Noah Lyles and his mother discuss childhood adversity | | 06:19 | Warren on Noah Lyles’ work ethic and family support | | 10:20 | Clip: Usain Bolt discusses Noah Lyles and breaking world records | | 12:05 | The importance of mental strength and mental health for elite sprinters | | 14:13 | Sha'Carri Richardson's resilience and relationship with coach Dennis Mitchell | | 19:28 | Clip: Sharika Jackson on moving forward after defeat | | 17:44 | Warren on showing tough athlete moments, e.g. Marcel Jacobs’ difficult season | | 23:45 | Smith on the privilege of witnessing the Paris Olympic 100m in person | | 25:05 | What Smith learned about the physical demands and power of elite sprinting |

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Listener Interaction Highlights

• Text from fan (“Philippe from Brooklyn”) (23:02): Advocates for more focus on athletes from small islands with tiny budgets but big wins; Smith confirms this is in the works for season two.
• Call-in (13:26): Paula Whitney admires Lyles’ talent but criticizes his sportsmanship, prompting a conversation about showmanship vs. humility in track stars.

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Tone and Language

The episode weaves together a tone of admiration and curiosity—balancing the prestige of Olympic-level sprinting with a candid look at the human stories behind the medals. Smith, the guest, maintains an enthusiastic and open demeanor, underscoring both the privilege and challenges of documenting the fastest people in the world.

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Conclusion

The All Of It episode offers a rich, multidimensional look at Netflix’s Sprint, reflecting on elite sprinting as both a high-profile competition and a deeply human endeavor. Through honest discussion and behind-the-scenes anecdotes, listeners are given both an emotional and technical appreciation for the world's fastest people and the stories that define them, setting up strong anticipation for season two of the series.

Transcript

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[WNYC Station Announcer]

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[Khusha Navadar]

You're listening to all of it on WNYC. I'm Khusha Navadar in for Alison Stewart. The 2024 Summer Olympic Games just wrapped up in Paris this past week, and while many Americans are typically only really interested in the big three sports, we're talking basketball, baseball or football. Our horizons open up for a bit about two weeks every Olympics. A new Netflix documentary spotlights seven athletes in track and field coming from different countries, all on the road to the Games in Paris. For a lot of viewers, the most exciting event is the 100 meter sprint. The winner is declared the fastest woman or man in the world. But what does it take to be the world's fastest? Throughout the doc, we learn more about the training, coaching and mental challenges faced by the world's fastest humans, including the United States star athletes Noah Lyles, who won the 100 last week, and Sha' Carri Richardson, who scored her first gold in the 4x100 relay race, as well as 10 times Jamaican gold medalist Shelly Ann Fraser price and British 100 meter and 200 meter record holder Zarnell Hughes. The docu series is titled Sprint. It's out on Netflix and executive producer Warren SM joins us today to discuss. Warren, welcome to all of it.

[Warren Smith]

Thanks for having me.

[Khusha Navadar]

Great to have you here and listeners. Call us. Are you a fan of the track and field events at the Olympics? Do you have a favorite runner? Who is it? What do you admire about them? How did they perform in Paris? Have you seen Sprint on Netflix? What questions do you have for Warren? Give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. Or you can always hit us up on Instagram X. Our handle is at Olivet wnyc. Okay, Warren, you've done a bunch of sports documentaries, rugby players, Formula one, racers, golfers. Why sprinter is next for you?

[Warren Smith]

I think we, we, we sort of looked at the world, I think from our, from a perspective of box to box. We really liked the world of track and field and athletics and it was one of those sports where, you know, up To a point. You always knew who were the winners and losers in that sport. You knew the field, you know, whether it back to Carl Lewis over here in the uk, we had a guide, Lynford Christie, who won the Gold Olympics, and then all the way through to Usain Bolt. We sat there in a sort of a meeting actually with Netflix over lunch, and we didn't really know who the. Who were the men and women that were now setting the records or winning the golds. And we wanted to sort of look into that world. So Netflix agreed and we started with a bit of development and we got ourselves on a plane to Jamaica and Jacksonville, Florida, and a few of the training camps. And it was pretty clear quite quickly that there is a lot of not only talent on the track, but a lot of personality and character in this world. And I think that was where we got excited and thinking, well, how can we help sort of elevate this sport? So it isn't just every four years that people care about, you know, the 100 and 200 meter sprints. Yeah.

[Khusha Navadar]

You often see these athletes make national headlines every four years. How did you want to showcase them outside of the spectacle of the sports and the fans?

[Warren Smith]

I think the key thing for us is when we got into the world, realizing how different, say the US Team and the athletes trained to the Jamaicans or Marcel Jacobs, who's from Italy. And I think for that it was just capturing their own worlds and just really embedding with these amazing athletes to sort of follow them in season one on the way through to the World Championships. And we've been privileged enough there will be a season two, I can say, in through the Olympics. So we were there in Paris the last two weeks, and it was an incredible moment to see some of the athletes we've been following for the last two years, you know, medal and do so well at the Olympic Games.

[Khusha Navadar]

Let. Let's get into some of those characters that we see, some of those people.

[Warren Smith]

We'll.

[Khusha Navadar]

We'll start with a clip of Noah Lyles and his mother, Keisha Kane, reminiscing about Noah's childhood with asthma. Actually, while. While going through scrapbook photos and keepsakes. Here it is.

[Noah Lyles]

So I didn't get to really participate in sports, so I got about seven or eight. There wasn't a time that I can remember where asthma was not an issue. I can't remember a lot of nights where I wasn't at the hospital getting medication to just try and calm down the episodes.

[Keisha Kane]

It's like your first lock of hair. From your first haircut. So we would have nights where I would just sit up and hold them all night. And sometimes we were the only two awake in the house. So we would talk and I would say, noah, one day this is gonna go away and your life is not gonna always be this way. Oh, I got some good stuff. I knew we were going to beat it. Okay. And then we're gonna create the best version of Noah we can create. Look at all these medals.

[Warren Smith]

Okay?

[Noah Lyles]

You don't have to pull them all out.

[Keisha Kane]

Doesn't matter. You still earned it. I have instilled in them like you are here for a purpose. And that is how legacies are created. Noah Lyles has always said he wanted to be the face of the sport.

[Warren Smith]

He wanted to be the next Usain Bolt. This is how you cement your legacy, defend the throne.

[Khusha Navadar]

That's a clip from the docu series Sprint, now on Netflix. Warren, can you tell us about Noah Lyle's work ethic as an athlete? How does he prepare for an upcoming race?

[Warren Smith]

I mean, Noah obviously is the showman. I think he likes to put himself front and center, but I think he's a very down, down to earth individual. And I think Kisho's mother plays a huge part of that, which I believe we captured in season one. I mean, I think sometimes when people see the showman out there, they don't really realize the hard work that goes into getting there on the blocks on 100 meter race, whether it be the world championships or the Olympics. And a lot of hard work. And that hasn't just started now. That started as a, as a child. I mean, he speaks about in season one, about the fact that I don't think he participated in any sports until he, after he was seven years old because he wasn't able to because, you know, the asthma. You know, he's in and out of hospital all the time. But, you know, through the dedication of himself. I think his brother's also a professional athlete and his mum and dad also were athletes. So I think it was a, it very much the family, family business for the Lyles. And he, he, you know, I think he was always destined to, to make it into the, into the track and field world. But you know, that hard work and dedication start mornings late, finishes training at the track. And we've followed that. You know, our teams have had privileged access with Noah and all of the other athletes to be able to demonstrate sort of it isn't just turn up and they're, they're fast. They really are putting in the graft.

[Khusha Navadar]

You know, one thing that you just said that really sparked interest for me is covering the full 360 nature of these athletes lives. And it's not just one athlete though. You have so many athletes that are at the top of their game and you have to travel to several countries speaking to so many people, current athletes, coaches, family members. How did you get all of these world class, world class athletes to be a part of the doc? Was that tough?

[Warren Smith]

It can be tough in a lot of sports. I actually think in the world of athletics it wasn't as tough as maybe it can be in some of the other documentaries that we do. And I think the reason for that is because the world needs this. The world wants this. These are the greatest and fastest human beings on the planet. And I think sort of for them, they want Netflix and the viewers to see that. And I think they, they deserve it. I mean, you know, whether or not, you know, you take the, the Olympic games this week, you know, the basketball team there can win a gold medal, but they can go back to the NBA contracts and, and sort of have this amazing sort of career aside from the Olympic games for, for these sort of sprinters and all the other track and field athletes, this is their super bowl, this is their moment. And I think sort of we're trying to give them an opportunity to showcase themselves on the world stage. And I think sort of that that's why they open the doors. I mean, not saying it's always easy because, you know, dealing with, you know, the team in Jamaica or the team in the U.S. you know, it needs it. But I think the makeup that we try and build as a team in, in from box to box is making sure that we have team members that can sort of, you know, connect with those sort of individuals, whether it be the coaches, the athletes, or the sort of, you know, the agents, which, you know, obviously also need to be spoken to.

[Khusha Navadar]

Yeah. And like you said, you're kind of offering a platform where otherwise there might be one as readily available compared to some other sports. A text just came in about the docu series I want to read. It says, I watched sprint as a great lead up to the Olympics. Got me super pumped for Olympic track. I'm a huge fan of Shelly and Fraser Price and loved seeing her highlighted in the doc. I was gutted that she had to pull out of the Olympics listeners. Thank you so much for that text. First of all, if you have a question for Warren, if you have seen this sprint doc, if you have a favorite track and field person that was at the Olympics that you'd like to give a shout out to, give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. It's 212-433-WNYC, Warren. We also hear in the docu series from retired athletes such as Usain Bull, Michael Johnson and Allison Felix in the series. Let's listen to a clip of both Bolt talking about Noah Lyles.

[WNYC Station Announcer]

Noah Lyles a great athlete. He's full of energy. He has the crowd mentally, he's very strong. He believes in himself. But if he break the world record, I'm not going to be happy. I'm not going to meant to be broken. I wish him all the best, but it's not going to be easy.

[Khusha Navadar]

It's so funny to hear him say I'm not going to be happy. What does he think about Noah Lyle's Persona as an athlete?

[Warren Smith]

I think, I think Usain Bolt, you know, very much was a showman himself and he, you know, his. He's not wrong there. His world record is going to be very, very hard to beat in both the 100 and the 200 meters. But I think sort of Noah touches on it. You know, you need star quality, you need main character energy, I think he says. And I think Usain Bolt definitely had that. And I think sort of that's what this new wave of athletes have, like, whether it be in the female cyber Sha' carri or with Noah, you know, they have this confidence in their ability that they can stand up there and say what they need to say about themselves and deliver on the world stage. I think Usain Bolt was probably one of the biggest athletes in history to do that. You know, there wasn't, you know, prior to him, I don't think a lot of the athletes maybe were doing that as much. But, you know, Usain talk the talk, but he definitely walked the walk. And I think it was a privilege to have him in our show and. And, you know, it was amazing to have him sit for an interview and just talk about the world of track and field, because I don't think he's really done that since retiring a few years ago.

[Khusha Navadar]

Well, there are a lot of ways in which the documentary I found at least goes into an element of sportsmanship, but also just being a sports challenger that often doesn't get talked about. And think about mental health especially, there are so many moments that really hone in on how difficult being an athlete can really be on mental health. Why was that angle important to you?

[Warren Smith]

I think it's always important to understand what makes these athletes tick. And also sort of its. It's a very sort of isolated individual sport. Yes, they work in teams, in training, but when they go out there on the start line, it's all down to themselves. And they have, you know, amazing support teams behind them, whether it be coaches, masseuses, you know, physios, etc. But when they go on the line, they're also sort of, you know, representing themselves, but they're representing their country. And I think a lot of pressure comes with that. And I think sort of, you know, that sort of ability to shut out the noise and focus on themselves to run is really important. I think, you know, being able to deal with that and that process is, is a huge thing. I think Noah spoke quite freely, you know, during the Olympics about, you know, seeking help from a therapist and talking to people about sort of how can he help himself be stronger mentally? Because essentially if you're, if you can feel like you are the best and you are the, you know, because they are very, very fast, but they all need to have that edge, that one, you know, 0.1% over their, their competitor and the mind is a powerful thing. And if they can sort of focus that and sort of make sure they're in the best mental state when they line up on the, on the line, I think they're going to be in the best place to try and win the race.

[Khusha Navadar]

Yeah, we've got a caller. Let's go to Paula Whitney in Crown Heights. Hey, Paula Whitney, welcome to the show.

[Paula Whitney]

Hi, good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for taking my call.

[Khusha Navadar]

Yeah, sure.

[Paula Whitney]

I saw a lot of the track and field. I admire Noah Lyles athleticism, but he's very disrespectful. He's not sportsmanlike. So I don't respect that aspect of his game.

[Khusha Navadar]

That's all Paula, thank you so much. Paula Whitney, thank you so much for that call. It brings into mind that showmanship element that you had mentioned, Warren, about how we as athletes, not by myself, but how those athletes present themselves to the public. It also reminds me of sha' Carri Richardson reputation in the media, which is touched on in the documentary. She and many others have said maybe it isn't fair. Let's move to Sha'. Carri. How does she deal with pressure of being in the spotlight?

[Warren Smith]

I think sha' Carri is supported by an amazing team down in Florida that's sort of led by the coach, Dennis Mitchell, who was a former athlete for the United States as well. I think for Sha Carrie, it's about, you know, from what we were able to capture, at least, it's about having that real great support unit with her. And obviously she's an amazing talent who has been since being, you know, college athlete through to her professional career and winning a gold medal at the Olympics as well as the sort of silver in, in the 100 meters. So for us, it was documenting that and documenting what a brilliant relationship that she had with Coach Mitchell. So I think that for us was a huge privilege to be able to sort of see that. I think one of my favorite moments of season one is between the 100 meter semi and 100 meter final where Dennis has sort of literally 20 minutes to change her mindset, talking about mental strength, to change her mindset from almost not making it through to the final. She got through as a fastest loser and turning into a positive. And he does it in, you know, just a few words where he walks us to the line and he says, I've just got one. I've got one thing to say to you. Who's the fastest? I think, like, you know, the hairs went up on the back of my neck when I saw that in the edit for the first time because, wow, for us to actually see those moments and to hear those moments was, was unbelievable. And obviously it's, you know, the respect of Dennis that's then in her head going into the hundred years. And whether or not Sha' Carri would say that helped to get over the line, I don't. I'm not sure. But for us, I mean, as program makers, we felt extremely lucky and privileged to, to be, you know, able to witness that. Hopefully the viewers did as well.

[Khusha Navadar]

Yeah, that, that organic kind of commentary and experience, being able to capture it is really special. We got to take a quick break, but we'll be back. We're talking to Warren Smith, the executive producer of Sprint. It's the docu series available on Netflix now. Going to take a break. When we come back, more of your texts and talking about more of the athletes that the the docu series highlights. Stay. This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Kusha Navadar and we are talking about the docu series Sprint, now available on Netflix. We're talking with the executive producer, Warren Smith. Sprint looks at some of the fastest people in the world getting ready to run in the track and field events at the Paris Olympics. And, you know, before the break, we had talked about the mental state that we see with a lot of these Athletes some of the mental challenges. There are some tough moments in the doc Warren, when these super competitive athletes lose and they're angry. Did you talk to them ahead of time about including the tough moments and what their feelings about showing this much vulnerability were? What was that like?

[Warren Smith]

Yeah, I think sort of a clear, clear example of that is someone like Marcel Jacobs, who is the current Olympic champion. And before the show airs on Netflix, we always like to be able to show the athletes, you know, what's coming up and basically so they're aware before it drops on platform. And what was, what was really refreshing is, is Marcel's take, which was, you know, pretty tricky year. You know, coming into it as Olympic champion, but not even qualifying for the world championship finals and just being sort of hit by injury after injury. And the brilliant thing about it is he watched the show and went, you know what? You captured it perfectly.

[WNYC Station Announcer]

Wow.

[Warren Smith]

It's exactly how it played out for me. So for me it's sort of. That's, that's where at box to box. How we really hope to the success of our shows is when the athletes and the people that feature, watching them watch them backs, they actually say, you know what, that was what it was like. And obviously not every time everybody's going to be a winner. Especially in a sport like track and field, there can only be one winner. And they can be, you know, there's a podium, there's three people that can get a medal, but really there can be only one winner. So there's going to be a lot of people that are disappointed with their final result. But navigating that wasn't too tricky, actually, because I think people realize that I've got to go again. I want to do it in the Olympic year. I want to prove that I can get the Olympic medal. And for us, that's been a great sort of, you know, transition into season two where we're able to follow, you know, people that, you know, someone like Marcel Jacobs since the season, you know, you'll see this in the second season. But he's changed everything in his life. He's actually moved to the United States. He's changed his coach. He had his, you know, we film him having his first ever Thanksgiving. Everything happened. He moved away from family and friends to try and help himself going into the Olympics. And, and I think that's the thing. So people need to feel those rock bottoms so that they can follow that sort of the athletes on either a rise next season.

[Khusha Navadar]

Well, you know, you're talking about those rock bottoms and you say there's only really, there's only one winner in a race, which is true. And in these races like we saw last week, thousandths of a second is what separates them. So that rock bottom, like it can feel really hard. You mentioned Marcel. There's there Shericka Jackson that I'm thinking of. You know, there's, there's part of the, the documentary talking about Sharika finishing behind Sha' Carri in the women's 100 meter race on her 29th birthday back in 2023. Let's listen to that clip.

[Sharika Jackson]

You have to know how to bounce back from.

[Keisha Kane]

A bad race or a.

[Sharika Jackson]

Race that you think you could have executed properly. The race already gone, there's nothing you can do. I know probably when I get back, coach will tell me what I did wrong. Like, oh, I feel like I got a good start. He was like, no, I don't think.

[Keisha Kane]

That was the best part of the race.

[Sharika Jackson]

For me. I think they make mistakes. Now we're ready by world championship. World championship is the goal.

[Khusha Navadar]

Warren, how do you think these setbacks also affect the athletes reputation in terms of what fans are expecting from them?

[Warren Smith]

I think that, you know, a sport like athletics is an IND is an interesting one because it's not like, you know, a golf tournament or a tennis tournament where they turn up every week and every single person goes against each other and you can win the, the, the track and field world, they always try and avoid each other as much as possible so that when they land at the Olympics or the world championship, they've not, they're not fatigued about that. So in season one we see probably for the first time that season Sha' Carri and Sharika coming up against each other. And I think it fuels those athletes going past that. And I think someone like Sharika ended up with the gold medal in the 200, Sha' Carri in the 100. So I think all in all they both ended up successful in, in our season and in their, you know, 2023 athletic season.

[Khusha Navadar]

Yeah, there's so much to cover. You shot clearly so much content. How did you make the hard choices about what to leave on the cutting room floor?

[Warren Smith]

Look across all of our shows, whether it be drive to survive, full swing and sprint, you know it. There is always stories that are left there. But what we hope for is some of those narratives can play out in future seasons. For example, there's athletes that maybe didn't quite make it into season one, but probably will be prevalent in season two because they've come through and actually we had an amazing ability to build trust and, and be around those athletes during season one. So if it doesn't make season one, it doesn't mean it is always gone. There's always an opportunity for it to come back. And, you know, we hope that we're going to be around the track and field world for a long time. So, you know, there is stuff that, you know that you lose Sometimes you think, oh, that was a brilliant moment. But you know, we can only make, I think it's six, six 45 minute episodes in season one. So there is always going to be moments that you love but just can't make it into the series.

[Khusha Navadar]

Any lessons that you learned from that experience that you're applying to season two?

[Warren Smith]

I think sort of the lessons that we learn about these shows are, you know, making sure that, as I said earlier, the athletes watch it back and say that's the moment. So making sure you don't leave things out that really were pivotal for their year. I think that's the key thing. You know, the worst case scenario is, you know, we can manage it when people, you know, I think sometimes it's very sad where people aren't in the season and they thought they will be. But I think, you know, as I say, I think those are the lessons is just making sure that we're capturing the, the real narrative. And sometimes it isn't always about who wins. Some of the best stories are about those people that nearly make it, you know, or sometimes, you know, finishing just outside the medals is as dramatic and as emotionally driving as a narrative than actually getting gold. So as a, as a production, as producers, that's our key to make sure that we're hunting out all the narratives for all eight people that line up on the block.

[Khusha Navadar]

It's so interesting that you just brought that up because we got this text here that I think is spot on. It says, thanks, Warren. Looking forward to the next season of Sprint. Would be great to feature some of the outlier athletes from smaller islands like St. Lucia, Dominica, Granada, et cetera, who are getting medals with tiny budgets for Olympic level games. This is from Philippe from the small village of Brooklyn with, with three emojis, a bicep flex, sunglasses and crying, laughing emoji. Just want a journalistic integr. That's the full text there. You know, we're looking at about two minutes left in this segment. Looking at Philippe's text for you at Paris right now. What was super exciting for you to see at those games after working with These athletes for so long.

[Warren Smith]

The most exciting thing I would say is probably one of the most exciting moments of my career was I was stood at the finish line of the 100 meters in the Paris Stadium with our camera crews and we looked at sort of eight athletes lining up, up. And we knew that every single one of those athletes, we had their narrative to tell. You know, in the men's race in particular, you know, any one of those could have won and we could have told that story. And in fact, we got probably the greatest ever 100 meter race documented. And we've been following whether it be, you know, let's see, League Tobogo, whether it be sort of Noah Lyles, Fred Curley, Zarnell, you know, Marcel Jacobs. We had it covered. And then, you know, and. But to answer that text, you know, Julian Alfred from St. Lucia, she's very much going to feature in season two and obviously winning the gold medal. So, yeah, we feel very privileged that these athletes have given us the opportunity to follow them over the last year, year and a half.

[Khusha Navadar]

I gotta ask, has it made you more interested in getting outside and running? I don't know if you're a runner, but has there been any reverse osmosis inspiration for you in your life?

[Warren Smith]

Yeah, I'm gonna tell you the next sports day at my child's school. I'm winning that race. Now. I've watched the athletes and I've seen them run. I feel like I've got the technique.

[Khusha Navadar]

Did you learn any technique? What's something interesting about, like, the training? A little tidbit. We've got about 30 seconds left. Are there any tidbits?

[Warren Smith]

My problem is that, you know, if I ran in a race like that, I'd probably pull my hamstring. But I think it's the, the power that they push back on and actually push down into the ground. I think sometimes you think you need to be light, but when you watch someone like saying Kushane Thompson, who is, you know, Jamaican athlete that got the silver medal, the power that they generate through the track, pushing down, that force is just something that, you know, you cannot believe the power that these athletes, you know, hold. So, yeah, I mean, I'm not sure I'll ever have that power, unfortunately.

[Khusha Navadar]

Well, at least we can watch the documentary and live it out vicariously. Warren Smith is one of the executive producers of this series Sprint. You can watch it now on Netflix. Warren, thank you much for your. For your work and for hanging out today. Really appreciate it.

[WNYC Station Announcer]

It.

[Warren Smith]

Well, thank you very much for having me.

[Khusha Navadar]

All right, that's our show for today. Coming up tomorrow, food writer and recipe developer Keanu Moju fuses Kenyan and Nigerian culinary traditions with California culture to create delicious, unique meals. And coming up on tomorrow's show, she joins us to talk about some of the dishes featured in her new cookbook, Afrikali. Hope you all have a a great day, Enjoy the weather, stay safe. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Take care.

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