In the pool, on the track, and in all other venues, elite athletes are more alike than different. Winners and losers share the same goals and passions.  They achieve nearly identical results. For example, in the one hundred meter sprint, just a few hundreds of a second separate the Gold from the Silver. But what makes competitors unique is their backstories—how they got to where they are.

Eleanor Mannion’s “Olympic Dreams” is a terrific example of behind-the-scenes sports reporting. This four-minute mini-doc, produced by Irish Television (RTÉ) tells the story of Nhat Nguyen, who at age six moved with his family from Vietnam to Ireland. Settling in Dublin, his hard-working parents opened a Chinese restaurant. Their efforts  made it possible for Nhat to become a world-class badminton player. Becoming an Olympics competitor raised Nhat to the celebrity level, but the same narrative structure employed by Mannion could be used to showcase the stories of athletes at any level.

About Badminton

Badminton has been played for centuries, but its modern form dates to the nineteenth century. Previously known as battledore or shuttlecock, the modern name was taken from the Duke of Beaufort’s Badminton House. Perhaps the most controversial part of the game is the pronunciation. According to the Cambridge dictionary, you should pronounce the  “n” in the second syllable: “badmiNton.” But Merrian-Webster has the “n” silent: “badminton.” More on the pronunciation here.

About Eleanor Mannion

Eleanor Mannion calls herself a Digital Native Video Journalist. You can follow her on Twitter  and Instagram and see more of her mojo productions on her RTÉ page.

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The editors of MobileMovieMaking have chosen “Olympic Dreams” as the Mobile Movie of the Week.