Synopsis

Je vais à RioStarting May 31, Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.* Host: Alexandre Despatie Director: Olivier Languedoc Producer: Marie-Christine Pouliot, Attraction Images Never before will you have gotten this close to our top athletes! Alexandre Despatie, three-time world champion and Olympic medallist in diving, gives us an inside look at his athletic career and contrasts it with that of 11 other Quebec athletes whose training was captured on camera for seven months for the reality documentary JE VAIS À RIO (I'm Going to Rio). The show follows the athletes closely as they prepare for the Rio Olympics. Each episode focuses on a topic that Alexandre Despatie presents by referring to his own career, talking about the problems he has come up against and the solutions he has found to overcome them. The topics cover all the human challenges that top-flight athletes face: pressure to perform, resiliency, solitude and homesickness, dealing with setbacks, friendship and love, relationships with trainers, etc. From one episode to the next we'll see how their physical condition improves in real time, their hopes and desires, doubts, obstacles along the way and successes. The athletes who appear in the documentary are:Roseline Filion from Laval, age 28, divingMeaghan Benfeito from Montreal, 26, divingJacqueline Simoneau from Chambly, 19, synchronized swimmingKarine Thomas from Gatineau, 27, synchronized swimmingKaterine Savard from Pont-Rouge, 22, swimmingCharles Philibert-Thiboutot from Quebec City, 25, running, 1500 metresHugo Barrette from the Magdalen Islands, 24, track cyclingHugo Houle from Sainte-Perpétue, 25, road cyclingJosée Bélanger from Coaticook, 29, soccerPierre Mainville from Saint-Jérôme, 43, wheelchair fencingLizanne Murphy from Montreal, 31, basketball JE VAIS À RIO gives us an opportunity to get to know some very engaging athletes and hear their touching stories, told with sincerity and spontaneity. *Subject to change without notice.​​​​