During the coronavirus shutdown, each day we will bring you a recommendation from The Post’s Peter Botte for a sports movie, TV show or book that perhaps was before your time or somehow slipped between the cracks of your viewing/reading history.
Icarus (2017)
Rating: TV-MA
Streaming: Netflix
Just like with the previously endorsed “Hoop Dreams,” the most compelling documentaries often vault us down a far deeper rabbit hole than originally intended.
Bryan Fogel’s Oscar-winning “Icarus” (Best Documentary Feature) set out to be an exploration of performance-enhancing drugs in preparation for an amateur cycling race — kind of a “’Super Size Me’ on steroids,” according to the New York Times review.
Instead, the gripping film ends up uncovering much of the overwhelming evidence that triggered the Russian doping scandal from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Under the guidance of Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory, Fogel initially injects himself regularly with PEDs and documents the results, with a goal to avoid detection via drug-testing.
The tenor and focus take a dramatic turn a few months into filming, however, when it is revealed that Russia and Rodchenkov are under investigation for the massive doping scheme by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Rodchenkov, who is clandestinely flown by Fogel to Los Angeles over fears that he is in danger of being silenced by the Russian government, supplies documents and emails providing intricate and incriminating details of the state-run operation. He admitted to the Times and on camera to Fogel that he and his staff regularly aided Russian athletes in evading positive tests by switching PED-tainted urine with clean samples, among other violations. (He speaks with the U.S. Department of Justice and eventually is placed under governmental protective custody).
The scandal led to a ruling by the IOC that only Russian athletes with no prior drug violations and deemed “clean” could participate in the 2018 Winter Games in Korea, although they only could do so under the neutral Olympic flag.
Quote of Note: “We dedicate this award to Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, our fearless whistleblower who now lives in great danger. We hope ‘Icarus’ is a wake-up call — yes, about Russia, but more than that, about the importance of telling the truth, now more than ever.” — Bryan Fogel, in his Academy Award acceptance speech.
Botte Blows: 4.5 of 5