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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Track & field sports, athletics > General
“Caster’s story isn’t just a tale of perseverance and poise, it’s a story that makes us all interrogate our humanity and the world we build with our actions every day. An essential read.” - Trevor Noah
Caster Semenya is one of the greatest athletes ever to run the 800- metre. She went undefeated for almost four years, winning two Olympic gold medals and three World Athletics Championships, and set and broke numerous records.
However, Caster’s life and career were devastated by accusations that she was not a woman and should not compete against other women as she was born with naturally elevated levels of testosterone. Required by the International Association of Athletics Federations to take hormone-altering drugs as a condition of competing in certain events, Caster for years suffered side effects that she describes as devastating to her health. Her predicament surfaced a still-raging firestorm over our understanding of gender and, of how gender plays out in sports, as well as our expectations of female athletes.
The Race to be Myself tells the coming-of-age story of an iconic athlete – of Caster’s dramatic journey from a gifted and self-trained novice to the pinnacle of her sport – and takes readers behind the scenes of her inspiring battle to run in the ‘body that God gave me’.
This is the story of two of the world's greatest ever milers, Seb
Coe and Steve Ovett. Before the Moscow Olympics, Coe and Ovett had
barely raced each other. They had, however, established impressive
race credentials and traded world records. So when the Olympics
came round, it was showdown time. There is still no athletics clash
which in living memory has come close to the Olympic duels of Coe
and Ovett in Moscow. The combination of record-breaking runs and
media hype generated huge public interest. And when, just weeks
before the Olympics started, Ovett first broke and then equalled
two of Coe's world records, the stage was set for the most titanic
of Olympic duels. The Coe-Ovett showdown in Moscow was, and still
is, sporting theatre of the highest order.
In June 1972, President Richard Nixon put pen to paper and signed
the Educational Amendments of 1972 into law. The nearly 150-page
document makes no mention of "gender," "athletics," "girls," or
"women." The closest reference to "sport" is transportation. In
fact, the bill did not appear to contain anything earth shattering.
But tucked into its final pages, a heading appears, "Title
IX-Prohibition of Sex Discrimination." These 37 words would change
the world for girls and women across the United States. On its
face, Title IX legally guaranteed equal opportunity in education.
In time, Title IX would serve as the tipping point for the modern
era of women's sport. Slowly but surely, women's athletics at the
high school and collegiate levels grew to prominence, and Tennessee
fast emerged as a national leader. In Title IX, Pat Summitt, and
Tennessee's Trailblazers, Mary Ellen Pethel introduces readers to
past and present pioneers-each instrumental to the success of
women's athletics across the state and nation. Through vibrant
profiles, Pethel celebrates the lives and careers of household
names like Pat Summitt and Candace Parker, as well as equally
important forerunners such as Ann Furrow and Teresa Phillips.
Through their lived experiences, these fifty individuals laid the
foundation for athletic excellence in Tennessee, which in turn
shaped the national landscape for women's sports. The book also
provides readers with a fuller understanding of Title IX, as well
as a concise history of women's athletics in the pre- and
post-Title IX eras. With interviewees ranging from age 20 to 93,
Pethel artfully combines storytelling with scholarship. Guided by
the voices of the athletes, coaches, and administrators, Pethel
vividly documents achievement and adversity, wins and losses, and
advice for the next generation. This book represents the first
statewide compilation of its kind-offering readers a behind-the-
scenes perspective of Tennessee women who dedicated their lives to
the advancement of sport and gender equality. Readers will delight
in Title IX, Pat Summitt, and Tennessee's Trailblazers: 50 Years,
50 Stories.
With his sixtieth birthday looming, Colin Renton decides that
it’s time to escape office life and focus on achieving some of
his unfulfilled goals. He embarks on a year-long adventure
that takes him from the busy streets of Edinburgh to the
traffic-free roads, sodden fields and dusty paths of Europe’s
winemaking regions. He laces up his running shoes and joins
thousands of fellow athletes in races that test him over various
distances, degrees of difficulty and levels of seriousness. His
schedule, which culminates with a marathon debut, takes him to
places he would otherwise not have visited. On his travels, he
seeks out local wines that deserve a place in a carefully chosen
twelve-bottle case, a process that throws up some fascinating
insights and introduces him to a vintage crop of engaging
characters. The crossover between running and wine uncorks a tale
of endurance, curiosity and discovery, told in an accessible style
and served up with a splash of local colour and a drop of wry
humour.
31 incredible running routes intelligently located all over Greater
London. In this unique, boxed collection of folding, pocket-size
cards you'll find a variety of running routes around Greater
London. Each card has a different route fully described and
illustrated on a large scale, 1:25 000 map and include our
carefully planned pitstops along the way. * Inspirational running
routes - on handy, pocket size cards; * Box includes transparent
sleeve - if it rains you can pop the walking card into the sleeve
to protect it from the elements; * Recommended pit stops - ideal if
you prefer to have brunch after your morning run * Easy to follow,
thoughtful design - the cards are the same size as a smartphone so
they easily fit the built-in pockets of athletic wear or the
armband mobile phone holders; * Each route is simply described and
illustrated - from Richmond to the Three Commons to Trent Park; *
Classic and unexpected routes - this happy mix of routes will
provide you with an interesting run within 10 minutes of wherever
you live in Greater London and several within a 3 mile radius; *
Ideal for joggers and weekend runners - it'll introduce you to a
route near your home and inspire you to travel a short distance to
find a fresh running experience Pocket a card, leave the box on
your bookshelf and enjoy a glorious new run in the capital.
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