A new documentary series from World Athletics takes an insider look of three of the top training groups in track through their season-long builds in preparation ahead of September’s Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
Iron Sharpens Iron was unveiled on Wednesday with a three-episode format that shows the behind the scenes work of the athletes and coaches navigating a year of workouts, travel, bonding and eventually competition.
Each episode is around 30 minutes and is an often unseen part of the process of making it to the start line in what is describe as the rollercoaster nature of an athletics season, from the physical and mental highs and lows.”
Most of the series will focus on the work at the training camps and travel to various Diamond League meets as some athletes who have not earned automatic qualifiers shift their attention toward the Ultimate Championship.
The first part of the series follows the members of Papendal, which is based in the Netherlands and led by Femke Broeders-Bol. And while most of the group is made up of Dutch athletes, the team has several international teammates and the episode shows how their relationships evolve through shared experiences.
“Over the coming weeks, fans will get an inside look at what it takes to truly become one of the best athletes in the world – and how training groups enable athletes to reach new peaks in their careers,” World Athletics said about what documentary looks to convey through all three episodes.
The other two episodes will focus on Florida-based Star Athletics which is a loaded group featuring Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Sha’Carri Richardson, Kenny Bednarek and Christian Coleman. Each of the athletes not only competes within their own camp but faces the reality that being among the best sprinters in the world turns into a challenge when nationals team selections and global titles are on the line.
M11 Track Club is the British stable led by husband-and-wife coaching duo Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows and is the focus of the final episode that shows Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell managing their rapidly rising stardom and establishing their dominance in the middle distance landscape.
The premiere episode is out now on the World Athletics YouTube channel.
