The track and field community was captivated by the recently released sports documentary ‘Sprint‘ on Netflix. Although the number of sports fans increased, the show was heavily criticized by purists for a variety of reasons. Noah Lyles, who is also cognizant of the current state of divided perspectives, discloses the show’s intended viewers on the YouTube podcast Track World News.
The six-time world champion confessed that he binge-watched the entire series with his girlfriend, Junelle Bromfield. While Lyles enjoyed the show, his partner pointed out that the episodes should have included many more attributes. There was undoubtedly a significant difference in their opinions, but he had the appropriate feedback.
Noah said that ‘Sprint‘ wasn’t created for experts in the field. Viewers new to the sport or with minimal background information were the primary targets of the documentary.
There are numerous track meets each season and a World Championship every two years, so the show aims to convince new viewers that track and field is about a lot more than simply the Olympics. He goes on to clarify the direction’s motivation by saying:
“They set it up in a scenario where one, they could talk about the Olympics, and two, they can add new people along the way.”
Colin Waitzman, the host of the Track World News podcast, completely agreed with Lyles‘ opinion on the way the show was directed and produced. He even states that at his workplace, his colleagues, who are not track fans, watched the documentary, and immediately it became a topic of discussion among them.
This whole scenario has two sides to the story. Even though the purists don’t admire it, ‘Sprint’ has garnered a lot of followers, which the sport has needed for a long time. Track and field has been stagnant for years, and many track legends have pointed it out. This is also one of the major reasons for the decline of the audience, but the American athlete has been playing a key role in taking the sport to further heights.
Noah Lyles Taking Matters Into His Own Hands
With the decline in popularity of track and field, Noah Lyles couldn’t just watch his favorite sport die. The athlete partnered with his main sponsor, Adidas, and took over the broadcasting rights of the Atlanta City Games. Lyles was scheduled to run in the event too, so the anticipation was already at its peak.
The moment the stream went live, it gathered the attention of thousands of track fans. After the Atlanta City Games, Lyles was able to secure more than 350k views, which was a big step toward the progression of the sport.
