Icarus

Al Truscott

This weekend, Netflix debuted  the documentary, "Icarus". For those who haven't yet heard of this accidental expose, it began as a sort of "Super-Size Me" meets cycling PEDs. Bryan Fogel was an amateur cyclist who was also an aspiring filmamaker and stand-up comic. He finished 14th one year in the French "citizen stage race" Haute Route. He felt the top top were all obvious dopers, and he wanted to see if he could gain a similar edge, so he began a film project to not only document his experimentation with PEDs (HGH, EPO, testosterone), but also successfully hide his use from any doping controls. This led him to a colorful Russian named Grigory Rodchenko, a former athlete himself who was the Director of the Moscow anti-doping lab, and the lab for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Rodchenko cheerfully guides Fogel through the doping protocol, and the subsequent measures needed to hide that doping from discovery. The first 30 minutes of the documentary are funny in the sad way that doping in sports can be absurdist. Ironically, Fogel's next attempt at the Haute Route places him 27th.

But what follows is anything but amusing. Both a character study of Rodchenko, and and behind-the-scenes look at the explosive New York Times revelation of the Sochi games doping cover-up and WADA report on the Russian program, the film graphically reveals both the scope and mortal risks surrounding doping in big-time sports.

Tim Sullivan

Thanks for sharing Al. I will watch it this week. 

Francis Picard

Thanks Al, perfect for the trainer !

Tom Glynn

I saw it. I've read and followed along with doping issues for years.  This was incredibly interesting.  I did chuckle when he came 27th .

There was a really good book written a couple years ago called "Spitting in the Soup".  There is a good podcast with the author out there somewhere too.  What it highlighted, and you see here, is that it's not just an athlete problem. Sure, lots of people will do what ever it takes to win, but more importantly, there are huge stakes for company sponsorships, governments, coaches and more. Putin put enormous pressure on his country to win at all costs in Sochi.  They came through. It's not an easy thing to solve.

Dino Sarti

I have heard great things about this movie.  It sold to Netflix for $5mm - a fortune for a documentary like this.

Tim Sullivan

Thanks again. I watched it, enjoyed it and found it almost unbelievable. Crazy stuff.

Jeff Kane

Just finished watching this, very interesting indeed. As the saying goes, where there is a will there is a way. It baffles me how a cheater can live with themselves.