Greg Rutherford to star in new discovery+ documentary charting his bid to create Olympic history

As Greg Rutherford, Team GB star from London 2012, looks to become only the second man in history to win gold at an Olympic Summer and Winter Games, a fly-on-the-wall documentary from discovery+ will follow Rutherford and his bobsleigh team-mates as they bid for glory in Beijing.

Scott Young, senior vice president, content and production at Discovery Sports, said: “Greg is an Olympic gold medallist, passionate about sport, and has competed at the highest level for his country. Most recently he’s made the transition to broadcasting. Having worked closely with Greg in Tokyo and spoken to him at length since, it’s clear he is someone who still retains his competitive instinct and harbours ambitions of one final crack at an Olympic Games, albeit the Winter Games. Greg genuinely lives and breathes the Olympic values and it’s clear he wouldn’t entertain the idea of competing in Beijing if he didn’t believe he could be successful in achieving his goals.

“I was so impressed with his desire to succeed in this mission that we simply had to invest in this story, to partner with Greg and his team to tell this compelling story from the outset. As with any journey of this nature – anything can happen – but this is a story that simply has to be told and I’m genuinely excited for viewers on discovery+ to watch the final programme in the lead-up to Games-time in 2022.”

The documentary follows Rutherford and his teammates – Lamin Deen, Joel Fearon, Ben Simons and Toby Olubi – as they travel across Austria, Germany and Switzerland battling to qualify for the main event in February 2022.

Qualification for the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing requires the team to finish in the top 12 in at least three of the seven World Cup series events they will be competing in from November 2021 to January 2022.

Rutherford said: “Winter sports have always been a really important part of my life and I love anything that’s got an edge of danger. So far, I’ve also loved coming into a team sport – I have an opportunity to share these incredible moments with a team and that’s a really big thing for me. I think one of the most challenging things is getting my body going again – I’ve effectively reverted back to how I was when I was jumping, I train most days and I’m conscious of what I’m putting in my body again.

Only one athlete, American Eddie Eagan, has won gold at both an Olympic Summer and Winter Games, having claimed victory as a light-heavyweight boxer in Antwerp in 1920 before claiming victory in the four-man bobsleigh at Lake Placid in 1932.

The full, as yet untitled, documentary will be available to watch on discovery+ in early 2022 with further details to be released at a later date.