Dominique Dawes Reveals the ‘Truth of Elite Gymnastics’ in New Docuseries (Exclusive)

The Summer Olympics is right around the corner, and Dominique Dawes has a new docuseries that shows what some of the top gymnasts go through to achieve their dreams. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Dawes, who won four medals in three different Olympics. Golden: The Journey of USA’s Elite Gymnasts will stream on Peacock starting on June 27, and Dawes explains what she wants viewers to take away from the docuseries.

“I want people to take away from the docuseries the truth of elite gymnastics,” Dawes said to PopCulture. “I want them to see the level of commitment and sacrifice. This isn’t we wake up and we start training for a few years and we make an Olympic team. A lot of these young girls started the sport of gymnastics like me when they were 6 years old and there is a whole commitment throughout their childhood to even get a chance at making an Olympic team. And so yes, there is that physical commitment, there is a psychological commitment, the emotional commitment, the sacrifice with regards to having any social life.”

Golden: The Journey of USA’s Elite Gymnasts will have six episodes, and the gymnasts featured in the series are Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez, Morgan Hurd, Sunisa Lee, Konnor McClain, and MyKayla Skinner. They will compete for the four coveted Team USA Roster spots, and the docuseries will focus on the athletes’ personal accomplishments, struggles and sacrifices.

“We went through a nice list of these Olympic hopefuls, and it really is,” Dawes said when talking about the selection process of Gymnasts for the show. “People already knew that Simone [Biles] was going to make these Olympic teams as barring no injuries. And so it was like, who are the other athletes that are going to be comprised of this Olympic team and any specialist that we may have? And so we went through a wonderful list. We reached out to a number of them and these five were very eager and excited to be on board.”

Dawes also talked about The SpringHill Company, the production company that approached Dawes about the docuseries (and was started by NBA Superstar LeBron James and Maverick Carter). “When I knew those two were involved, I mean, LeBron James, best athlete in the world out there, I right away wanted to be a part of the project as they are,” Dawes said. “Not only just focusing on covering the five Olympic hopefuls leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, but more importantly, it’s not just what goes on in the gym, but it’s behind the scenes as well. And I liked the fact that they were really willing to be very raw and open and transparent about the sport of gymnastics.”

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