HBO's The Weight of Gold Examines the Pressure of Olympic Dreams

What happens when your life's focus is the pursuit of Olympic gold? For many of the world's most elite athletes, the dream of competing at the Olympics has been the only constant throughout their lives. But what's left when the time comes to step aside and let a new generation take on the dream? The HBO documentary The Weight of Gold looks at the mental and emotional problems that rise to the surface when the cheers die down and normal life resumes. Also tonight: Tough As Nails hits the sand, Ultimate Tag wraps its first season, and Netflix's The Speed Cubers sweeps viewers into the world of high speed Rubik's Cube-solving. Here's what's new and noteworthy on TV this Wednesday:

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: HBO Sports shines a light on the mental health issues faced by many Olympic athletes in The Weight of Gold, with athletes Michael Phelps, Jeremy Bloom, Lolo Jones, Bode Miller, Sasha Cohen, Shaun White, and Apolo Ohno opening up about their struggles to live normal lives after a lifetime devoted to the pursuit of athletic excellence. Watch the trailer. 9:00 PM ET on HBO

NEW EPISODE: Competing teams race to fill and seal bags of sand on Tough As Nails, and later, individual competitors shovel still more sand into an oversized hourglass. Watch a preview. 8:00 PM ET on CBS

SEASON FINALE: One last group of contestants enters the extreme playground for Ultimate Tag, where they'll compete for their chance at a $20,000 prize. 9:00 PM ET on Fox

DOCUMENTARY: The documentary The Speed Cubers delves into the world and community of competitive Rubik's Cube masters, introducing viewers to Max Park, an eighteen year-old who has mastered the cube. Watch the trailer. Streaming on Netflix

SEASON FINALE: It's never too early to start planning that New Year's party. At least that's according to At Home with Amy Sedaris, with Amy offering her own unique traditions for watching the ball drop in the Season 3 finale. 10:00 PM ET on truTV

SERIES PREMIERE: Hulu's "British Binge-cation" continues with Ladhood, a coming of age comedy in which comedian Liam Williams looks back on his youth, and realizes how it has echoed throughout his adult life. Watch a preview. Streaming on Hulu

PREMIERE MOVIE: The winner for Best International Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival comes to Netflix. The Hater, from director Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi), explores the world of online trolling and social media duplicity by following a young man who takes a PR job that leads him into the internet's grubby underbelly. Watch the trailer. Streaming on Netflix

Mike Attebery is Senior Editor at Primetimer and the author of seven mystery thrillers. Follow him on Twitter at @mikeattebery.