Indiewire Personal Gold Review:
Watch: Female Olympians Defy Expectations in Exclusive 'Personal Gold: An Underdog Story' Trailer
No one thought the women of the U.S. cycling team had a chance.
By Casey Cipriani | IndiewireMay 4, 2015 at 11:10AM
Who better to direct a documentary about Olympic athletes than someone who competed in the Olympics themselves? Tamara Christopherson was an American Olympic sprint canoer who competed at the summer games in Sydney in 2000. "Personal Gold: An Underdog Story" is her directorial debut and Indiewire has the exclusive trailer.
The film's synopsis reads: "The year 2012 is one many American cycling enthusiasts would rather forget. That was the year the blood-doping scandal enveloped erstwhile hero Lance Armstrong, forcing him to retire from cycling in disgrace and his former teammates to withdraw from that year's Summer Olympic Games in London. Amid this controversy, however, there was the nearly forgotten Women's Track Cycling team that picked up the fallen baton for their country, seeking to become the first U.S. team to earn a Women's Track Cycling medal in more than 20 years.
"This inspiring documentary, directed by Tamara Christopherson (herself an Olympic athlete) tells the story of four athletes – Dotsie Bausch, Sarah Hammer, Lauren Tamayo and Kirkland, WA native Jennie Reed – who sought glory despite being abandoned by sponsors, who had recoiled from the doping scandals. Their secret weapon, however, was a training technique, dubbed 'Data not Doping,' which monitored the athletes' glucose levels and sleep patterns to determine peak performance."
