The Weight of Gold is a documentary that came out this year on HBO. I’m going to summarize as well as give my thoughts about the documentary.
The documentary touches on Olympians about the things they go through before and after the Olympics. This documentary is excellent because I find it rare to see Olympians’ stories and the grind and process they go through to prepare themselves for the Olympics. Michael Phelps, to me, is the greatest Olympian of all time. He was the narrator of the documentary, and he also made an appearance.
Shaun White is a very known snowboarder who also made an appearance in the documentary. The first time I learned who Shaun White was was through the 2011 movie, Friends with Benefits. He addressed some of his tough times he went through as an athlete. Many of these athletes/Olympians suffered from post-Olympics depression.
Most of them feel lonely and vulnerable. Athletes questioned themselves about their careers and mental health.
Mental health is the main idea of this documentary. It was sad to see how many Olympians have committed suicide because of mental health. Sports can take so much out of you mentally and physically. These athletes compete for every four years in the Olympics. So you can’t imagine the amount of pressure they have to win the gold medal.
It also caught my attention that these Olympians don’t make enough money. Some of them have second jobs to make ends meet. Not everyone can be like Michael Phelps. If you finish Silver or Bronze, you won’t make enough money.
Michael Phelps explained the difference between being great and good. He didn’t go into detail about being a “Good” athlete, but he said that to be great, you have to put in so many hours every single day. You don’t have to go the extra mile, but when you want to be great, you have to be. It’s one of the essential sports documentaries I’ve watched this year.