Waterman (2021)
A Quick Film Review

​As an Olympic fan, I've certainly known the name of Duke Kahanamoku as a swimming and surfing legend, but I've not delved much deeper into the Olympian's background beyond that. And that's a shame, as his life story runs parallel to so much critical history of sport and United States culture.

Luckily, Waterman is here to offer a well-rounded look at the, at times bittersweet, life of a sporting hero. Produced by Sidewinder Films and narrated by actor Jason Momoa, Waterman  takes us from Kahanamoku's childhood in Hawaii through his death in 1968, all framed by a look at his 1959 appearance on This is Your Life, prompting multiple flashbacks to key points in his history.

Growing up amidst the turmoil of colonial-era Hawaii, as a white population increasingly marginalized native Hawaiians, Kahanamoku embodied both the traditional spirit of 'aloha' - described as a generosity and a 'lifestyle of sharing from within', and pull toward becoming a 'waterman' - one connected with the power and potential of water. His surf club enabled him to teach surfing while showcasing an inclusivity and community the white-run Outrigger Club didn't, and which gave foundation to his swimming career.

From there, Waterman takes us on Kahanamoku's journey from a 'nobody to the Olympics in a matter of months'. A gifted athlete, he would win five Olympic medals across four Olympics (Stockholm 1912, Antwerp 1910, Paris 1924, and Amsterdam 1928) and while competing as both a swimmer and water polo player. While at it, the 'Kahanamoku kick' revolutionized the sport. 

In between Games, he found success and popularity promoting surfing, previewing a role to come fully later in his life. But before that, he faced struggles -  needing to retain amateurism for the Olympics combined with prejudices to limit his earning potential. Post-Games, an attempted Hollywood career never blossomed into starring roles. Waterman doesn't shy from Kahanamoku's difficulties, instead using them to fuel a complete picture of a man with an extraordinary life, and with successes to come in his later stages despite the hardships.

​A post-World War II surge of interest in surfing brought his name back into the limelight, however, and powered his role as the 'father of modern surfing' while also acting as a genuine ambassador of the Hawaii spirit of 'aloha'. A particular exploit in which he rescued eight men from drowning also pioneered the surf board as a life saving tool - making him a legend in lifesaving, as well.

Fellow Olympic fans will appreciate acknowledgement of fellow Olympian Cecil Healy, whose sense of sportsmanship was crucial to Kahanamoku's success, and mention inclusion of swimming rival Johnny Weissmuller, who would eventually overshadow 'the Duke' both in the pool and on the Hollywood screen. Brother and fellow Olympic medalist (Paris 1924) Sam Kahanamoku is glimpsed on the This is Your Life telecast. And, Tokyo 2020 surfing gold medalist - and Hawaiian - Carissa Moore provides a modern athlete's perspective on Kahanamoku's legacy.

It's a shame that Kahanamoku wasn't able to see surfing debut as an Olympic sport, but its fair to say that without his work - his joy - in promoting the sport years ago, it might not be where it is today. Waterman is a must-watch, not just for any Olympics and sports fan in appreciation of his swimming and surfing achievements, but for anyone interested in an example of a uniquely American full life.

Swimming for Gold (2020)
A Quick Film Review

It's hard to imagine an Australian swim camp hiring a young American without coaching experience to coach. Let alone a young American woman to coach a young men's team. And a woman just coming off a mental breakdown in competition, to boot.

But that's where we start in 2020's Swimming for Gold from director Hayley McFarlane's family-friendly Australian film. Unfortunately, the flighty premise just underscores the overall lightness throughout. 

Claire (Peyton List) is apparently a world championship medal-winning swimmer now nicknamed 'Catastrophe Claire' for a panic attack moment in a swim meet gone viral. To help her move forward, her father finds her a coaching job with an Australian swim club - this, despite that public "freakout", and apparently not having been able to even enter a pool since. And her charges are young men essentially her own age.

Well, okay. From there, it was hard to take much seriously. A coach has to room with a student? A coach begins a mutually flirty relationship with one of her swimmers, Liam (Daniel Needs)? The club's manager, Bodhi, champions Claire's "enlightenment" as she has the men play 'Marco Polo' and 'Duck Duck Goose' (for underwater acoustics and team building, respectively?)? Luckily, all it takes is a rather quick and half-hearted criticism from Liam to snap Claire out of her malaise and set her focused. And before you know it, all goes, well, swimmingly.

I could go on, but it's all very maddening. On the plus side, there are quick cameos by Paralympic swimmer Ellie Cole and Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus...

​Swimming is a sport that deserves a good sports movie, but this isn't it. Let me know in the comments when you find one. At least I finally can have Hulu stop recommending this as a suggested movie to watch.

Neymar: The Perfect Chaos
A Quick TV Review

Even the most casual of international soccer fans have heard of Neymar - Brazilian superstar and two-time Olympic medalist with a flair for attention - and Netflix's 2022 documentary is here to provide a broad overview of his career, successes and troubles and all.

Executive-produced by three-time Olympic medalist Lebron James and Maverick Carter, Neymar: The Perfect Chaos positions Neymar as a unique talent pushing through noise to continue pushing his craft.

Unfortunately, that 'noise' is often of Neymar's own making. And, while it features multiple interviews with the star, Neymar doesn't really offer a deep insight into Neymar. Well...perhaps there isn't much depth to uncover.

Neymar's three parts - "The Great Brazilian Promise", "The Comeback", and "This is Paris" - certainly outline the rapid trajectory and much-publicized career of the soccer player.

Born Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, Neymar was a youth phenom who idolized Brazilian legend Pelé, and who, as even though a 'scrawny' kid attracted the attention of even Real Madrid. But he stuck with Brazil, and played with Santos for five years, becoming the "Golden Boy of Brazilian football" and creating an era of "Neymarmania".  And, Neytmar rushed to take advantage of his celebrity with a slew of brand alignments, and earning a reputation as a "hot-headed monster" that hasn't learned enough humility. Despite a Libertadores championship for Santos in 2011, a defeat in London 2012's gold medal match failed to deliver the high expectations and hopes of Brazil's rabid fans.

A much-hyped move to FC Barcelona came next, pairing him with absolute global superstar - and Beijing 2008 gold medalist with Argentina - Lionel Messi. Despite a championship in his second season a Champions League Final in 2015, a star turn with a gold medal at Rio 2016 (finally, for Brazil - and at home!), and a remarkable team comeback - La Remontada in the 2017 Champions League - Neymar doesn't get out from Messi's shadow, nor due credit. His lowlights - injuries, a disappointing 2014 World Cup run, and more - add to criticism and scrutiny. So much so that he seeks a fresh start, and a starring role, at Paris St. Germain in 2017, where he still plays today.

​Neymar is interviewed throughout Neymar, but one is left with the impression that he's still a kid (he's now age 30) playing a game, without any discernible interest in a legacy beyond the playing field, aside from boilerplate pronouncements. His father/manager, though, thankfully does provide enough depth, especially as he tries to stress the business-side to his son.

Neymar is watchable enough, though not particularly revealing for serious fans. A highlight for me was catching three-time volleyball Olympic medalist Bruninho (Beijing 2008 through Rio 2016) as a member of Neymar's entourage, and hearing teammate perspective from Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Dani Alves.

Ready to Fly (2012)
A Quick Film Review​

As the Nordic combined competition gets underway at Beijing 2022 now, I'm reminded that this is now the only Olympic sport discipline - across both the Winter and Summer Games - that is exclusively contested by men. While there was some hope that this inequity would have been rectified in time for this year, the wait goes on. But momentum is on Nordic combined's women's side - they compete now on a World Cup circuit and in the Nordic World Ski Championships (since the 2020/21 season), and the International Olympic Committee's drumbeat toward gender equality is only getting louder under President Thomas Bach's tenure.

Proponents can also probably thank the women of sister sport discipline ski jumping, themselves the victims of delayed Olympic sport equity. Despite the record of women having ski jumped since 1911 (and probably earlier), and the inclusion of the sport in the Olympics since Chamonix 1924, a women's event only was added in Sochi 2014. This year's competition in Beijing marked the third Olympic appearance, with the new mixed-gender team event debuting.

The fight to get women's ski jumping onto the Olympic program is the focus of director William Kerig's 2012 documentary film, Ready to Fly. Centered on the career of landmark world champion Lindsey Van, Kerig takes us through the tumultuous, growing pains-filled few years ahead of the 2011 IOC decision to add women to the ski jumping calendar for 2014.

"Don't forget, it's like jumping down from, let's say, about two meters on the ground about a thousand times a year, which seems not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view."

That was the unfortunate position of then-president of the International Ski Federation, Gian Franco Kaspar in the mid-90s, and the perception these ski jumpers were battling against to earn respect as athletes looking for equal opportunity.

The Winter Games of Salt Lake 2002 - right in Van's Park City training ground - spurred awareness of the lack of support. Peter Jerome, the father of fellow competitor Jessica Jerome, launched Women's Ski Jumping USA to offer fundraising and promotion, leading to a push for inclusion at Vancouver 2010.

​That the IOC declined to include the women for 2010 spurred a notorious court case that the women would eventually lose. Yet just the next year, buoyed by the support of the athletes' perseverance through a difficult 2011 World Championships, success was achieved with the announcement of women's ski jumping for the following Games.

It's warming in retrospect to know that the three leading athletes in Ready to Fly  - Van, Jerome, and Sarah Hendrickson - all went on to compete in Sochi (finishing 15th, 10th, and 21st, respectively), allowing them to realize a dream for which they had fought for so long.

Ready to Fly doesn't take us through the Sochi Games - film production ended in 2011 - but the backstory to that Olympic debut is a testament to the struggle for equal rights and opportunity. Having to navigate a youth coaching system unused to women, to unfair team accommodation and travel support, to dismissive IOC representatives (the always blunt Dick Pound!) and the emotional toll of being the default spokesperson for the movement as world champion (Van)...these women (nevertheless) persisted.

So, the women - and all fans - of Nordic combined should take heart and inspiration...recent precedent is there, thanks to the ski jumpers of Ready to Fly. Fingers crossed for Milano Cortina 2026!

We generally recognize that Olympic athletes are accomplished, driven, and talented humans - of course, in sport. But often they display drive and talent beyond the playing field, too. Some have been - or are - accomplished musicians. Others, not so much despite best - or lackluster - efforts.

From classical and opera, to country and reggae, and pop and hip-hop, the breadth of music is represented well in the annals of Olympic musicians. Let's take a look at some history of Olympic athletes making music.

​The Hits

Success stories can be found as far back as Micheline Ostermeyer (London 1948), who fielded a long career as a pianist after winning three Olympic medals. Anne Pashley (Melbourne 1956) was known as the "fastest singer in the garden" as she transitioned from sprint track success to a 30-year profession as an opera soprano. Martin Lauer (Rome 1960) was a well-received country singer after a sprint relay gold medal. Runner Madeline Manning (Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972, Montreal 1976) continues a gospel career in her chaplain work.

Basketball star Wayman Tisdale (Los Angeles 1984) released eight jazz albums before his 2009 death. Short track speed skater Cathy Turner (Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994) was busy hustling together a singing career before her star turn at the Games. Sprinter Jon Drummond (Sydney 2000, Atlanta 1996) had a successful stint embedded with the Kirk Franklin & The Family gospel choir. Middle-distance runner Joanne Fenn (Athens 2004) had a music career and appeared on Fame Academy ahead of her Games appearance. You can count Vanessa Vanakorn (er, Vanessa-Mae), too, as the violinist had a prolific musical run before an appearance in Sochi 2014's Alpine skiing competition.

More recently, basketball players Carlos Arroyo (2004) and Damian Lillard (Tokyo 2020), as Dame D.O.L.L.A., have established respect in reggaeton and hip-hop, respectively. Triple jumper Will Claye (London 2012, Rio 2016, 2020) has serious ambitions for his own hip-hop career, and four-time Olympic Alpine skier Tina Maze (Salt Lake 2002, Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010, 2014) had a top Slovenian hit for her pop debut. Hard music is represented, too. Downhill skiing specialist Dominik Paris (2010, 2014, Pyeongchang 2018, Beijing 2022) is an established heavy metal artist, and luger Igor Lobanov (Albertville 1992) has been in Slot since 2002.

From ice hockey, Henrik Lundqvist (2006, 2010, 2014) is well-known as a guitarist and a member (with John McEnroe!) of The Noise Upstairs band. Fellow NHL'er Ryan Miller (2010, 2014) has also been known to dabble in rock music as well.