Winning isn’t everything is an unexpected statement from a sports company. The Infinite Sprint, On’s portrait of German sprinter and Olympic champion, Alexandra Burghardt, for this difference.
The film instead champions mental strength and a resilient attitude. “The distance between dream and reality is perserverance. And with every day, this distance gets a little bit shorter, until the two meet,” Burghardt narrates. It took her 22 years to become a national champion, she notes, “And I’m nowhere near the finish line.”
The film was written by Los Angeles creative director, Oliver DeVitre, and shot by awarded director and editor, Mischa Meyer. It is a new style of content film, adding fictional elements to the traditional sports documentary format to connect to a wider audience. The campaign was created by On in collaboration with Oliver de VeVitre’s creative agency, Gold for Cash Inc., and produced by production company, Akkurat, in Berlin.
The Infinite Sprint was filmed in Burghardt’s hometown of Altötting, Germany. It combines original archive moments from the very beginning of her career and juxtaposes vignettes of Burghardt’s gruelling training schedule with fictional scenes of a young girl of a similar age to Burghardt when she first set out to pursue her dream of becoming a professional sprinter and making it to the Olympics. Over this, Burghardt tells of the challenge required to achieve her goal.
Gessica Giulini, On Sports marketing lead and producer of the film, stated, “This is not meant to be a documentary. We were aiming to create a content piece with a narrative arc and personal insight into athletic life beyond the common ‘zero to hero’-story. We want to inspire people from all walks of life to connect with Alexandra’s story, to take heart and realize that, even though it might take longer than you think if you persevere, you can reach your goals. The most important thing is not to give up but to Dream On.”
Oliver DeVitre commented, “This project was an amazing opportunity to team up with an athlete whose story has not been told yet and give it the emotional scale it deserved. I loved turning Alexandra’s decades-long, split-second battle into something that hits you right in the feels, no matter how invested you are in the world of track and field.”
DeVitre and Meyer have been collaborating with On since 2020. DeVitre has worked for some of the world’s top advertising agencies including Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam and VCCP Berlin, where he created award-winning work for global brands including Nike, BMW Motorrad Global, Sky, Heineken and Converse.
Meyer is a commercial, music video, and film director and editor originally from Stuttgart, Germany. Following success in the commercial world, his first short film, ANT, was selected in over 30 international film festivals as well as winning a Young Directors Award at Cannes 2021, while his latest short film, In The Shadow of Palms, recently premiered at Tribeca.
Credits:
Client: ON AG
Sports Marketing Lead: Gessica Giulini
Project Manager Athlete Strategy & Partnerships: Jacob Wessel
Agency: Gold For Cash Inc.
Creative Director: Oliver DeVitre fka Frank
Director: Mischa Meyer
DoP: Louis Lustermann
Production: AKKURAT Studios
Producer: Nian Tang
Production Assistant: Sophie Werche
Executive Producer: Rocco Kopecny
Music: Rwdy Music
Edit House: Cabin
Editor: Nathan Rodgers
Colourist: Mikey Pehanich
Post Production & Online: SLGH Hamburg
Special Thanks to: Kasia März, Familie Burghardt, Dominic Bilic & Crossfit Altötting TV Altötting, SV Wacker Burghausen, Freiwillige Feuerwehr Altötting, Horst Strömer
