Olympic original films and series to watch over the festive holidays and New Year break
If the weather outside is frightful, Olympic Channel has offerings delightful... enjoy the best of our original series over the festive period.
Home and searching for things to watch this festive period?
Snowed in at New Year, and keen to be entertained on your duvet day?
Or do you just need an escape from squabbling relatives?
Well, Olympic Channel can help. Over the past year, we have produced some outstanding original films and series for you to binge on during these holidays.
Here are the top 10. Happy Holidays, and enjoy!
1. World at their Feet
Lionel Messi finally achieved his destiny by winning the FIFA World Cup with Argentina, but he didn't do it alone.
One of the standouts for La Albiceleste was Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister who was part of our World at their Feet series ahead of the tournament.
It featured a number of footballers, including Brazil star Richarlison, Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon and Iran forward Sardar Azmoun, telling stories from their career and their hopes for the competition in Qatar.
World at their Feet
Meet some of the top Olympic footballers to watch out for at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. They recount their journey to becoming professional players as they are about to embark on a major international event.
2. On Edge
The year started with the countdown towards the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games which were held in February.
Figure skating was again one of the star attractions of the Games with ice dance dominated by athletes who trained in Montreal under Romain Haguenauer, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon.
They included Beijing gold medallists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
On Edge follows them in the build-up to Beijing, and ends with their performances on the biggest stage of all.
On Edge
Follow the personal and emotional journeys of the world’s best ice dancing teams, both on ice and off ice, as they train for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
3. 72 – Gathering of champions
Mark Spitz and Olga Korbut were two of the stars who shone brightest at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games.
They are among the athletes who return to the scene of their golden performances, plus Kip Keino, Karin Janz, Valeriy Borzov, Mary Peters and Dave Wottle, in 72 - Gathering of champions.
There was also tragedy in Munich as 11 members of the Israeli team were killed in a terrorist attack.
One of the survivors, race walker Shaul Ladany, poignantly reflects on the tragedy and the aftermath.
72 - A Gathering of Champions
Fifty years after the 1972 Olympic Summer Games, eleven Olympic heroes return to Munich, retracing their steps in an emotional, first-person telling of the games that defined them.
4. Breaking Life
The dance sport of breaking will make its full Olympic debut at Paris 2024, but what does it take to be a B-Girl or B-Boy?
Breaking Life follows athletes from North America, France, India, Colombia and Senegal as they bid to make the big time in the discipline combining physicality and art.
Breaking Life
Discover the world of breaking through the eyes of five young dancers practicing this new Olympic sport around the globe. What does it mean to be a B-Girl or a B-Boy today? What challenges do they overcome and what does it take to be an athlete in this emerging art form that is evolving from the streets onto the world’s biggest stage.
5. Chasing Tokyo
With three golds, a silver and a bronze, Great Britain topped the sailing medal table at last year's Tokyo 2020 Games.
With her second consecutive gold in the Women's 470 class, Hannah Mills became the most successful female sailor in Olympic history.
The film, Chasing Tokyo, tells the story of how Britain's sailing team prepared for the Games including the challenges of having to train during the COVID pandemic.
6. The Invisible Bond
Partnerships are nothing new in sport, but those of visually impaired athletes and their guides are truly special.
The Invisible Bond tells the story of Paralympic athletes and their guides, and the trust and friendship they develop as they take on the world.
7. Nuffin for Nuffin
Before Tokyo 2020, Bermuda had won just one medal at the Olympic Games - Clarence Hill's bronze in boxing at Montreal 1976.
In the film, Nuffin for Nuffin, we meet today's generation of Bermudan boxers who have overcome adversity - in and out of the ring - as they bid to return the small North Atlantic island to the Olympic podium.
8. Picabo
Lindsey Vonn was renowned for racing on the ragged edge, but she was inspired to do so by her fellow American Picabo Street.
Vonn was nine years old when she got Street's autograph in a ski shop in Minnesota, and this encounter sparked her desire to become an Olympian.
The documentary film, Picabo, was co-directed by Vonn who said she wanted to "return the favour" to her mentor and friend who overcame personal issues and injuries to take alpine skiing gold in the Super G at Nagano 1998.
"Picabo’s personality and her ability to connect with me as a child was what made me a fan," says Vonn. “She was authentic and confident, exactly what I wanted to be.”
9. From the Top
High achievers from sport and music get together in the series From the Top.
See what happened when Sky Brown tried to teach Yungblud to skateboard, Nathan Chen worked on choreography with Hayley Kiyoko, and Tinashe worked out with 800m queen Athing Mu.
Executive produced by the one and only Elton John, From The Top takes a unique look at what stars from sport and music have in common.
From The Top: Olympians and Rockstars
A top Olympic athlete spends a day together with a music star – a profile of greatness as told from greatness.
10. Mariah: A Boxer’s Dream
If your time is somewhat limited over this festive period, then make sure you check out this short film.
Mariah: A Boxer’s Dream follows teenager Mariah Bahe who is bidding to become the first Native American woman to box at the Olympic Games.
It shows her life on Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the United States, and how she has gone on to win several junior titles despite being hours away from outside sparring partners.
Bahe - who is coached by her father John Calvin Bahe Jr - will be old enough to compete in Olympic boxing at Paris 2024, where she hopes to make her dream a reality.