Beginning with Rhasidat Adeleke in her dorm room, donning her iconic letterman jacket emblazoned with a large ‘T’ for Texas, Path to Paris makes an impactful start. Despite a minor error in the embroidered initials in her jacket, a novelty that Adeleke takes with good humour, the film establishes her as a promising young athlete from Tallaght, Dublin, who arrived at the sprawling University of Texas campus – home to 52,000 students – with a fairly unknown profile.
As part of Dublin filmmaker, Darragh Bambrick’s four-part documentary series, the sequence provides a raw and unfiltered glimpse into the life of nine Irish athletes, including Adeleke. The series traces their endeavours to make it to the Olympics and Paralympics, using a woven narrative spread across three-hour-long episodes, veering away from the traditional documentary style towards a more truthful, cinéma vérité approach.
Starting their journey in November 2021, the athletes were followed for a period of three years before they could make their mark. As of the time of writing, six of the nine athletes have successfully qualified for Paris. Episode One, which airs next Thursday, also profiles Olympic surfer Gearóid McDaid,and Paralympic cyclist Katie-George Dunlevy, alongside her guide, Eve McCrystal.
Though the documentary was scheduled to feature Adeleke’s performance in the recent European Championships in Rome – in which she performed phenomenally and won three medals – the unforeseen surge in Adeleke’s success led to more footage being left out than included.
However, Bambrick maintains a positive outlook: “There’s an inherent beauty in documenting over an extended period. Attempting to confine a narrative within a few months often falls short as nothing significant unfolds. But when you have three years, towards the end of 2021 in our case, life unfurls as it should. There are victories and defeats, sickness and injuries – and we have captured all of it.”
Bambrick insists on sticking to the full Olympic cycle when it comes to observing athletes, a perspective that brings to light the true nature of the athletes’ commitment and sacrifices that occur over the four years between the games.
In spring 2022, Bambrick first met Adeleke in Austin, during her second year, as she adjusted to both the academic and intense training routine at one of the USA’s most sports-centric and largest institutions. Adeleke, in her relationship with Coach Flo, a bond underscored by her recruitment following her achievements in shorter sprints, is the key focus of Bambrick’s lens. However, Bambrick also directs our gaze beyond just the track – revealing snapshots of her life in the weights room, the hair salon, and the college food truck, interspersed with laughter and tears from her past three years.
Bambrick then chronicles her journey back to Dublin for the National Championships, followed by the 2022 European Championships in Munich. There, Adeleke took fifth place in her maiden 400m senior final. A brief return to Dublin, where Adeleke trained solo in the cold winter nights, was proceeded by a spring 2023 trip to Austin. By this time, Adeleke’s celebrity was undoubtedly on the rise, culminating in her first individual NCAA victory.
The World Championships held in Budapest the previous August brought a change in atmosphere after Adeleke’s Nike pro contract signing. Heightened anticipation and a sense of tension prevailed as she secured fourth place, with her mother enthusiastically cheering from the side-lines.
Adeleke candidly admits the change to being a professional athlete from being a student athlete has been challenging. Having to compete even after a strenuous season is no small task. However, as her coach constantly reminds her, seeking success also means grappling with the accompanying challenges. For her, choosing this path was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a choice she wanted and had been praying for, for a long time.
As Episode One concludes, we receive an exhaustive glimpse into the early life of a sportswoman, as detailed by Bambrick, who also boasts a travel diary that could rival National Geographic. The second instalment presents Rhys McClenaghan, a hopeful recipient of the gymnast gold medal, along with badminton player Nhat Nguyen and his weightlifter sister Tham. In the third instalment, we meet boxer and current Olympic champion Kellie Harrington, long-distance runner Hiko Tonosa Haso, and Paralympic swimmer Nicole Turner.
This has been a disparate encounter for Bambrick compared to his prior series’, London Calling (prior to the 2012 Olympics), Road to Rio (launched before the Rio Olympics in 2016) and Horizon Tokyo (the series that went on-air before the postponed Games in 2021, a period when it remained dubious if the Games would even happen until the Opening Ceremony).
Bambrick opines that this time around, it’s more of an intellectual struggle for the sportspeople. In the post-COVID-19 era, they’re increasingly cognisant of their mental health. This awareness inevitably forms part of their training regime, aimed at fostering balance in their lives. The elongated episode durations also afford us the opportunity to narrate their stories more comprehensively whilst delving into their personal experiences, thereby complementing their sporting journeys.
“We believed that Kellie was our champion, Rhys our formidable contender, and Rhasidat our emerging star. Following that, we sought to narrate diverse tales, beginning with Hiko’s journey through direct provision.” “Three unique approaches explore this storyline positively, from Nhat and Tham’s Vietnamese heritage and Rhasidat representing modern Ireland.”
Finally, before closure, Bambrick once more enlisted Andy Lee to undertake the voiceover work. The former Olympic boxer brings his personal perspective to these narratives.
Bambrick confided that though much of the footage taken wouldn’t be part of the final film, it was crucial for establishing a bond. This closeness stands as our strongest attribute. Presently, this type of series doesn’t serve as a financially viable option. However, with the support from PTSB, we were able to successfully complete the project, something that I was very passionate about. Ensuring the athletes’ stories were accurately portrayed, with emphasis on their support networks and their authentic emotions was pivotal.
The premiere of ‘Path to Paris’ is scheduled for this Thursday, the 27th of June, at 10:15pm on RTÉ One.