What does it take to win gold at the Olympic Games? How many years of hard work and dedication does it take to prepare for such a feat? How many disappointments do you have to endure on this journey?

Danielle Brittain has walked this journey over and over again – her two sons won Olympic gold for South Africa in rowing, all four of her sons have rowed at top levels, and she is currently the team doctor for the SA rowing team. Danielle has faced her own battles with cancer and then watched as her son battled Hodgkin’s Lymphoma during his Olympic training and overcame it and went on to win gold after his recovery in this high-performance sport.

The Olympic wins for the South African teams at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics were iconic moments for South Africa and Brittain’s descriptions of what the wins meant for the individuals in the teams, their families, the coaching staff and ordinary South Africans demonstrates the power of sport to unite the country.

A rowing story, a family story, a cancer survival story, a South African story – and the story of a mother watching it all unfold.

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.

How many people will be chosen as volunteers for the 2012 Olympic Games in London? To play a part in the Olympic Games is a wonderful experience - probably a once in a lifetime opportunity - and a rare privilege. No matter what role they play, the support of thousands of volunteers is absolutely vital to the success of any Olympiad. I was one of the few British volunteers at the Atlanta Centenary Olympic Games. It was the most exciting and rewarding three weeks of my life. I saw Olympic finals, witnessed medal ceremonies, talked to champion athletes both contemporary and past, and worked like a Trojan for long hours as part of the stadium staff. This is my story about the small part I played in 'The Greatest Show on Earth'.

Jack Beresford was the first British Olympian to win medals of any colour in five consecutive Olympic Games. His record of 3 Gold and 2 silver medals at the 5 Olympic Games held between 1920 and 1936 remained until Sir Steve Redgrave won gold at the 2000 Sydney Games. Historically, men have had two great chances to prove their mettle; in battle and in sport. While many are aware that Jack Beresford was one of Britain's greatest oarsmen, this affectionate but unsentimental tribute by his son, John, reveals what few know, that Beresford served his country with distinction in war as well as in peace, and both with a modesty that is usually indicative of true merit. It is commonly said, show me the boy and I'll show you the man, and this work reveals that Jack the schoolboy, the soldier and the sportsman was driven by the same strict principals of duty and hard work throughout his life. This is, says John, the story that his Father never wrote. It is also a story with a delicious (if vicious) irony; the German bullet that wounded 19-year-old 2nd Lieutenant Beresford in 1918 led to him abandoning rugby and taking up rowing. Eighteen years later, the German favourites to win the Olympic Double Sculls paid the price of Jack's change of sport as, in the final's last 100 metres, Dick Southwood and Jack Beresford rowed them to a standstill to win Olympic Gold.

What does an athlete do when she is not allowed to take the start of the Olympic finals because of a positive doping test or he is not allowed to compete at the Games for reasons of nationality? He or she brings the case before the ad hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an arbitral body first created on the occasion of the 1996 Games in Atlanta, which is present on site and resolves all disputes within 24 hours. Written by its former President, who teaches and practices international dispute resolution in Geneva, Switzerland, this book tells the story of the ad hoc Division from Atlanta to Sydney over Nagano. It gives an account of the cases resolved, discusses the Arbitration Rules, and explains the practical operation of the Division. It also reviews all the main arbitration law issues which the Division faces, including jurisdiction, arbitrability, due process, the choice and proof of the applicable substantive rules, the remedies against the award, as well as some sports law issues, such as field of play rules or strict liability for doping offenses.

This book examines the changing nature of opposition to bidding for and hosting the Olympic Games in contemporary American cities. It explores and critiques the process by which cities bid for the Olympics in the current context of the International Olympic Committee's changing bid requirements and from the social justice perspectives of Olympics opponents. Using detailed case studies of the Olympic bids in Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles, it shows how opposition to bidding for and hosting the Olympics has changed dramatically in American cities.

The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics will be the biggest single sporting event in the UK in our lifetimes. The memories of that summer of sport will remain with us forever, but what did those four weeks tell us about ourselves, our society's values and its possibilities? This collection of critical reflections is not anti-Olympics nor against sport. The writers instead imaginatively address the reality of the Games' impact, question what the ceremonies and Team GB represented, and deconstruct the organisers' claims of economic regeneration and boosting participation. This an essential and exciting read for all who understand and appreciate that London 2012 meant something, but are unsure what. Contributors include world-class experts in Olympism, writers and journalists who reported on and were inspired by the Games, social and cultural critics, sports policy consultants and sport campaigners. Contributors: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Barbara Bell, Billy Bragg, Ben Carrington, Anne Coddington, Gareth Edwards, Bob Gilbert, Eliane Glaser, David Howe, Kate Hughes, Suzanne Moore, Mark Perryman, Gavin Poynter, David Renton, Andrew Simms, Mark Steel, Alan Tomlinson, Zoe Williams. Mark Perryman is the author of the widely acclaimed Why the Olympics Aren't Good For Us And How They Can Be. During London 2012 he was a frequent media commentator on the politics of the Games. Mark is a Research Fellow in sport and leisure culture at the University of Brighton and author of a number of books on football, Englishness and national identity. He is also co-founder of the self-styled 'sporting outfitters of intellectual distinction' aka www.philosophyfootball.com.

This book is the first longitudinal study that addresses language policy and planning in the context of a major international sporting event and examines the ideological, political, social, cultural, and economic effects of such context-specific policy initiatives on contemporary China. The book has important reference value for future research on language management at the supernational level and language services for linguistically complex events. At the same time, it presents some broader implications for current and future language policy makers, language educators and learners, particularly from non-English speaking backgrounds. Foreword by Ingrid Piller

This book focuses on the ground-breaking coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games by the UK's publicly owned but commercially funded Channel 4 network, coverage which seemed to deliver a transformational shift in attitudes towards people with disabilities. It sheds important new light on our understanding of media production and its complex interactions with sport and wider society. Drawing on political economy and cultural studies, the book explores why and how a marginalised group was brought into the mainstream by the media, and the key influencing factors and decision-making processes. Featuring interviews with key people involved in the television and digital production structures, as well as organisational archives, it helps us to understand the interplay between creativity and commerce, between editorial and marketing workflows, and about the making of meaning. The book also looks at coverage of the Rio Paralympics, and ahead to the Tokyo Games, and at changing global perceptions of disability through sport. This is fascinating reading for any advanced students, researchers, or sport management or media professionals looking to better understand the media production process or the significance of sport and disability in wider society.

John Lucas has dedicated his nearly half-century of academic life at Penn State University to researching and writing about his first love of sport, track and field, and the Olympics. He has attended every Summer Olympics since the 1960 Rome Games and has written several books, including 'Future of the Olympic Games.' From his over 200 monographs and articles, Lucas has selected a score of his articles written since 1953 for this anthology. They cover the range of his academic interests. (Hardcover) "In 1962, six years before I first met him, John Lucas defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Maryland on "Pierre de Coubertin and the Formative Years of the Modern Olympic Movement." Almost a half century later, following 8 books and some 250 scholarly articles on Olympic history, comes this book, "The Best of John Lucas," compiled by the world's doyen of seriously researched, thoroughly documented, and passionately written Olympic history. As I have done, enjoy " (Dr. Robert Barney, founder of OLYMPICA: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLYMPIC STUDIES and past-president of the North American Society for Sport History.)

Get ready for the race of your life... This is what it feels like when I'm running. When I'm running fast, I feel free. 12-year-old Lili is determined to defeat her arch rival in front of the Queen during her school's anniversary celebrations. Adopted from China as a baby, Lili also has personal challenges to overcome, but when her training is thrown into chaos by events outside her control, she realises that she must choose between family and the race of her life. Meanwhile in 1944, Eric Liddell, hero of the 1924 Olympics, finds himself in a war zone. Separated from his family, he is getting ready to run his final race in a prison camp in China when his lifelong principles are challenged by the imprisoned children he is trying to help... Praise for The Race 'Not your typical happily ever after, Roy has written a wonderfully relatable and inclusive tale, where all are welcome, and the beauty of sport brings everyone together in the end. There are life lessons to be learned in this inspiring story with friendship at its heart.' SHAUNAGH BROWN International Rugby Player and Former Commonwealth Games Athlete

This book deals with the events leading up to the 1936 Popular Olympics which would have united the Popular Front in opposition to the Berlin Olympics. It also discusses the days after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War which began on the same day the games were due to start. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, the book traces the biographies of several Popular Olympians who would go on to volunteer in the Spanish Civil War. The book also examines the planned events and locations for the Popular Olympics as well as the international funding that the games secured. The book argues that the events were a departure from Workers' Sport as well as the IOC's Olympic games and represented an important cultural manifestation of the Popular Front.

A quaint idea in the 1890s, the Olympic Games are now the foremost sporting event in the world. Information on the winners and medals abounds, but this unique book provides information on the events surrounding the Olympics--political controversies, scandals, tragedies, economic issues, and peripheral incidents. Covering specific games from the 1896 Olympics in Athens to the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, this volume also presents plans for the 2004 Athens games, 2006 Turin games, and the 2008 summer games. Enhanced with new illustrations, this book includes sections on both the Summer and Winter Games. Chronologically arranged entries cover each of the games, while appendixes provide further information, including details about the Olympic committees. Bibliographic information is provided with the entries, as well as in a general bibliography. A full subject index makes this volume the ideal reference for anyone interested in the colorful history and scope of the Olympics.

This book examines women's participation in the Olympic Games since they were allowed to be included in that global arena. Using a holistic, social scientific approach, and emphasizing the rhetoric of sport mediatization, Female Olympians reviews the literature relative to sexism, racism, and ageism before providing historical, political, economic, and socio-cultural perspectives such as the gendered language of Olympic reportage, religious considerations, women's bodies relative to their training for the Games, drugs and doping, and female Paralympians. With numerous critical case studies, never-before assembled data, and personal interviews with athletes, this volume offers insights that both investigate and celebrate female Olympians' successes.