„The Weight of Gold“ was intended to coincide with the Olympics, which adds another somber note to this soul-searching documentary about the sobering impact of the depression that elite athletes can experience once the fanfare ends.
„The Weight of Gold“ was intended to coincide with the Olympics, which adds another somber note to this soul-searching documentary. The postponement of the Games, however, does nothing to blunt the sobering impact of the depression that elite athletes can experience once the fanfare ends, after devoting their lives to the often-fleeting pursuit of glory. Narrated and produced by 23-time gold medalist Michael Phelps, who freely discusses his own struggles outside the pool, the one-hour film focuses on the intense training that Olympians undertake — to the exclusion of almost everything else — and the perhaps-inevitable void left once the spotlight fades. Michael Phelps „Nobody who is going to expend that kind of effort, to achieve that kind of goal, is going to be just like everybody else,“ the swimming great suggests, citing the repercussions of the „narrow and intense“ focus on Olympic perfection.
