Audiences on Netflix are raving about the new eight-episode sports drama, Olympo, with many viewers consuming the entire series in a single sitting.
This Spanish teen drama, which debuted on the streaming platform Netflix this month, explores the emotional, athletic, and personal journeys of a group of elite young athletes training at the fictional Pirineos High Performance Center, pushing the limits of what they are willing to do to reach their aspirations.
Story
Nuria Bórges (María Romanillos) is under the watchful eye of her coach and a doctor as she engages in various training activities, including running on a treadmill, spinning on an exercise bike, and submerging herself in water. She is a member of Spain’s national synchronized swimming team alongside her best friend, Amaia Olaberria (Clara Galle), and both of them train at the Pyrenees High Performance Center.
Shortly after, enter two new athletes, Zoe Moral (Nira Oshaia) and Yaiza Compes (Mara Lazardo), who are recruited for the same HPC by the center’s director, Isabel Duran (Vicenta Ndongo), and the track coach, who has plans for both to join the heptathlon team. While Yaiza is enthusiastic about the opportunity, Zoe perceives spending her days at the HPC as a nightmarish situation. Despite their differing attitudes, they are both excited to embark on this new journey together.
However, things take a turn as we witness Zoe involved in a car accident, followed by her arriving alone at the HPC, practically coerced by her parents to stay. Nuria is the first person to welcome her, and she introduces her to the environment; Nuria has just returned after a week away for undisclosed reasons, sparking intense curiosity from Amaia. As Amaia presses for answers, Nuria becomes increasingly reticent, prompting Amaia to search for a new partner in her quest for a place on Spain’s Olympic team. While experimenting with different partners, she discovers a vial in a teammate’s locker that strongly suggests doping activity.
In the meantime, Amaia is in a relationship with Cristian Delallave (Nuno Gallego), who has just learned that he is being let go from the HPC’s rugby team. Nevertheless, Cristian remains committed to supporting his best friend, Roque Pérez (Agustín Della Corte), who is openly gay yet struggles to convince Diego (Gleb Abrosimov), a fellow swimmer with whom he has secret encounters in a storage room by the pool, to publicly acknowledge their relationship.
Olympo apparel company representatives arrive, bringing four sponsorship deals that will greatly benefit aspiring members of the country’s Olympic team. Amaia is confident she’ll secure one of these deals, but everyone is taken aback when Zoe is chosen for one of the sponsorships. As Zoe heads out of the HPC, disheartened by the competitive atmosphere, she encounters Nico Furtado (Hugo Teixeira) from Olympo, who persuades her to sign the deal through cunning blackmail.
Final Analysis
Olympo skillfully intertwines various discussion themes with the relationships of its ensemble cast, ensuring that these connections are not overshadowed by the emotional and steamy elements the show aims to present. This strategy appears to enhance its appeal to fans of Élite.
The series has a more mature approach, even though it occasionally adheres to predictable dynamics and plot twists. It particularly highlights the pressing issue of doping and its ramifications for both dialogue and athletic performance, which adds depth to the production by Matheu, Foguet, and Abad.
Although Olympo does not reinvent the sports-themed genre, it draws viewers in with the right characters while seriously contemplating the implications of winning at any cost. It examines how an athlete’s public image impacts their performance and how public perception can significantly influence outcomes, especially in competitive contexts such as synchronized swimming. The show embraces confessions, schemes, and secrets but also strives to clarify its narrative purpose: to authentically confront athletes with a profound moral dilemma that many may have grappled with at some point in their careers.
Viewers are adivised to use their discretion as the series contains nudity and explicit sexual content.
Watch the trailer:
