A British female hockey players journey to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. Can it be achieved.

Legacy remains one of the most important issues relating to multisport mega-events across the globe and it could be argued that the development of legacy is one of the most urgent imperatives in elite sport. In this regard the Paralympics is no exception to the quest for long term legacy; however, little in the way of documentation appears to be forthcoming from the International Paralympic community in this regard. This book reviews the concept of legacy across previous Paralympic Games by providing a series of chapters under the headings of 'The Paralympic Legacy Debate', 'Paralympic City Legacies', 'Emerging Issues of Paralympic Legacy' and 'Reconceptualising Paralympic Legacies'. The issues arising are discussed in terms of a meta-analysis of the author's work and offer interesting ideas which if taken up by the International Paralympic Committee, International Olympic Committee, Bid Committees, OCOG's and major sports could change the face of Paralympic legacy towards the positive forever.

This text evaluates the moral project of Olympism, analzying the changing value positions adopted in relation to the ideology of Olympism across the period from the 1890s to the present day. The book also analyzes discourses of Olympism concerned with youth, governance, sport for development and international relations.

An exploration of how the Olympics are organized in response to risk. This book looks at the tension between the riskiness of mega-events, attributable to their scale and complexities, and the societal, political and organizational pressures that exist for safety, security and management of risk - leading to changes in how the Games are governed.

Snowball's Chance: The Story of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games is the only book devoted solely to chronicling the historic events at Squaw Valley and Lake Tahoe. The VIII Olympic Winter Games took place in February 1960 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. From 30 countries around the world, 665 athletes gathered over 11 days to engage in five recognized Olympic winter sports contested in 27 events. These sports and events included alpine skiing, Nordic combined, cross-country skiing, biathlon, figure skating, speed skating, ice hockey and ski jumping. You-are-there accounts of all competition events with top scores and medal results for each sport are included. Readers will learn about the extensive pageantry and artistic expression of the opening and closing ceremonies produced by the legendary Walt Disney. The 200-page book includes 80-plus photographs by official photographer Bill Briner and others showing historic Olympic venues and athletes in the heat of competition.

Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) is the motto of the International Olympic Committee. After reading Les Woodland's "The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories" the reader might wonder if the motto should be Sillier, Loonier, Crazier. There is the gentle rower who was winning his race when he stopped his scull to avoid scattering a mother duck and her ducklings-we'll let your read the book to find out how he did-and the American socialites who showed up for a golf game in Paris and accidentally ended up in the Olympic golf contest. There was so much confusion that year they never learned one of them had become Olympic champion. Oh, and the men's Olympic golf champion had actually journeyed to Paris to play tennis.Shooting live pigeons was an event in the 1900 Olympics, but there's no mention today of the competition out of embarrassment over the 300 dead and maimed birds that revulsed the spectators. We can't forget the Jamaican bobsled team nor the Russian KGB colonel who rigged the scoring in fencing and managed to create an international incident. They are all in "The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories," along with dozens more athletes who managed to attain fame they would rather not have earned.In addition to the 50 stories of competitors behaving badly, or at least oddly, Les Woodland has sprinkled collections of interesting and sometimes improbable Olympics facts throughout, making "The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories" fun from cover to cover.As the author of 26 books, Les Woodland knows how to tell a story and here he's in fine form. Join him in his trip to the crazy side of sports.

The idea of "Internationalism" has manifested itself not only in the intercultural dialogue within the Olympic Movement, but also at the Olympic Games as the sportive, cultural, and media peak of the four-year-circle. The authors analyze and discuss Internationalism from different professional perspectives, against different cultural backgrounds, as well as in relation to diverse reference groups to widen the understanding of Internationalism as a social interaction in the Olympic Movement. They also aim at establishing the intersections and equal normative principles of "Internationalism" within the different cultural and institutional fields. These common grounds may be useful for the practical implementation and realization of "Internationalism" through Olympic sports and at Olympic Youth Camps.

It takes just under 10 seconds to run, but to the winner of Athletics' men's 100 metres goes the accolade of 'The Fastest Man on Earth'. "The Fastest Men on Earth", first published in 1988 as a tie-in to the "Thames Television" series of the same name, is reissued in a new, exciting format, fully revised and updated to include the incredible men's 100 metres final at the Beijing 2008 Games. Each chapter discusses not only the race itself, but also the preliminary rounds, dramas and controversies and includes interviews with all the key players, not just the champion. Immaculately researched and written in an entertaining style "The Fastest Men on Earth" brings to life some of the greatest athletes who ever set foot on a running track.

This book is the first to focus on the theme of tradition as an integral feature of the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Just as ancient athletes and spectators were conscious of Olympic traditions of poetic praise, sporting achievement, and catastrophic shortcoming, so the revived Games have been consistently cast as a legacy of ancient Greece. The essays here examine how this supposed inheritance has been engineered, celebrated, exploited, or challenged. The Athens Games in 2004 were widely represented as a return to ancient, and modern, origins; the Beijing Games in 2008, meanwhile, saluted a radically different ancient civilisation. What is the Olympic future for ancient Greece? Thinking the Olympics brings together contributions from various disciplines, including cultural history, classics, comparative literature, and art history. Together these perspectives foreground two opposing plots which recur and collide ritually on the occasion of the Games. On the one hand, the Games present themselves as an ideal enactment of pure, intrinsic Olympic values; on the other, the Games appear as a messy performance of extrinsic investments by diverse parties with their own interests, commercial and political. Power, money, property, and identity are persistently at stake in the Games. But in a time when credit and trust among nations are in short supply, the Olympic arena and its flexible traditions may be where exchange can be done.

On August 26, 1960, twenty-three-year-old Danish cyclist Knud Jensen, competing in that year's Rome Olympic Games, suddenly fell from his bike and fractured his skull. His death hours later led to rumors that performance-enhancing drugs were in his system. Though certainly not the first instance of doping in the Olympic Games, Jensen's death serves as the starting point for Thomas M. Hunt's thoroughly researched, chronological history of the modern relationship of doping to the Olympics. Utilizing concepts derived from international relations theory, diplomatic history, and administrative law, this work connects the issue to global political relations. During the Cold War, national governments had little reason to support effective anti-doping controls in the Olympics. Both the United States and the Soviet Union conceptualized power in sport as a means of impressing both friends and rivals abroad. The resulting medals race motivated nations on both sides of the Iron Curtain to allow drug regulatory powers to remain with private sport authorities. Given the costs involved in testing and the repercussions of drug scandals, these authorities tried to avoid the issue whenever possible. But toward the end of the Cold War, governments became more involved in the issue of testing. Having historically been a combined scientific, ethical, and political dilemma, obstacles to the elimination of doping in the Olympics are becoming less restrained by political inertia.

This book consolidates Carl Miller's extensive knowledge gained while pursuing his life's work in Olympic-style weightlifting. There are scientific principles behind Olympic-style weightlifting, and Miller's 50 years of lifting, researching and coaching provide valuable insight into the process of Olympic lifting. Whether you are an advanced lifter or a novice, Miller equips you with the tools to become a champion, even if it's in your own mind. For those lifters with the desire to compete, Carl's book will inspire you to immerse your body and mind in the intricacies required to be a winner. Miller's success as a young weightlifter led him to a long and unique career coaching weightlifting, fitness and nutrition to elite athletes in the 1960s and 1970s, and later he spread his message about the benefits of weight training to a wider audience. As Coaching Coordinator for the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team, Miller put into practice many methods and techniques he gleaned from studying successful international lifting programs. The U.S. Olympic weightlifting team under head coach Tommy Kono won a record number of Olympic medals using assistant Olympic coach Carl Miller's coaching system. He gathered the best lifters in the country, had the best coaches in the sport, and introduced new lifting techniques to elevate the U.S. lifters to contenders. Carl Miller has dedicated himself to analyzing and tweaking the techniques of Olympic lifting. During the 1970s, in addition to his duties with the Olympic team, he was a National coach, World coach, elementary school teacher and vice principal. As a teacher and vice principal Miller developed physical conditioning programs for the kids in his school. During his 30 years, and still counting, as founder and co-owner of Carl & Sandra's Physical Conditioning Center, lifters seek out Carl, his son Shane and staff for Olympic-style training. Carl & Sandra's Conditioning Center stands apart from other gyms because Carl Miller's philosophy revolved around the benefits of weight training long before it became popular. He weaves the hundreds of tiny components of Olympic-style weightlifting into beneficial fitness programs for gym members with a wide variety of profiles, and at the same time, his Conditioning Center trains a team of nationally competitive masters Olympic weightlifters. "The Sport of Olympic-Style Weightlifting" provides the athlete with a comprehensive review of the critical elements that mold a champion. Winning isn't simply about lifting technique, eating the right food or visualizing lifts. You will discover the importance of body levers and the nuances of adjusting for your own unique body measurements, you will learn the finer points of planning the different phases of your training, you will be enthralled with the diverse programs available to incorporate in your routines, and you will grasp how your mind contributes to your accomplishments at critical points along your trajectory.

The story of the 2004 U.S. Olympic wrestling team and it's countdown to the Athens Games.

The media increasingly refers to football clubs as brands. Certainly concepts such as loyalty, affiliation, emotional ties with football clubs seem to parallel the relationship between consumer and brand in the broader marketing sphere. This book delves deep into the world of the lucrative business of sports branding.

The Olympic Tour of China: Seeing Sports, Venues, Cities and Parks All Together in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao and Shenyang The holding of the 2008 Olympics is an important event in the history of China. Many Chinese see it as a symbol of China's growing power and its increasingly important role in international arenas and thus have made tremendous efforts to make it successful. For many outside China, it is a great opportunity to travel to China and see the 2008 Olympic Summer Games as well as the transformation of the cities of China, even as a post Olympic tour. This guide book is to help international tourists to plan and to make a successful Olympic trip in China. This book covers: All Olympic Co-host cites in mainland China Easy way of buying Olympic event tickets Better deals in booking local hotels and air tickets Olympic events and schedule Numerous photos from inner cities How to arrive at Olympic Venues by public transportation Hotels, shops, gourmet streets and bars in the Olympic co-host cities Price negotiation skills and bilingual phrases Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao and Shenyang

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.)

China Gold: China's Quest for Global Power and Olympic Glory introduces the athletes, the businesses, and the leaders who have cooperated-through many challenges-to bring the XXIX Olympiad to Beijing, China. Written by Chinese experts in close collaboration with US and European sports writers, and enhanced by full-color photos and illustrations, China Gold covers Olympic sports and events, traditional physical activities like tai chi and wushu, and new extreme and luxury sports. There are chapters looking at the economic, technological, and environmental issues connected with staging the Olympics, and fascinating coverage of the history of sports in China, including women's participation in ancient sports and the ascension of elite female athletes.

The 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, but many human rights activists support a boycott. They liken the circumstances to previous governments that used the games to glorify their regimes--most notoriously the Nazis in 1936. What has led to this perception and is it fair? "Sport, Revolution and the Beijing Olympics" is a cultural history of sport in China that challenges many such ingrained Western assumptions. The authors unpick the relationship of sport to imperialism and revolution and examine its significance in both China and Taiwan at governmental and everyday levels. In the process they successfully debunk harmful myths, such as the prevalence of drugs in Chinese sport among women athletes, and present a balanced view that is a much-needed corrective to popular understanding.

Since Nadia Comaneci captured the hearts of the world with her amazing performance at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, one that would change the sport of gymnastics forever, Romania has been known throughout the world for its remarkable success in the sport of gymnastics. This full-color album presents the history of Romanian gymnastics from the founding of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation in 1906 to the Romanian women's team that won five consecutive world championship titles under coach Octavian Belu between 1994 and 2001. This book was originally published on the occasion of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. This special 25th anniversary softbound edition is issued to commemorate the Tokyo Olympic Games. The book profiles each member of the 1996 Romanian Women's Gymnastics team, including such stars of the sport as Lavinia Milosovici, Simona Amanar, and Gina Gogean, among others. This collector's item is a must for every gymnastics fan.

The race to secure the bid for the Summer Games of 2012 is among the most intense in history. Five of the world's most prominent cities have tossed their hat into the ring for the right to host the most prestigious international event in sports. They have consciously chosen to saddle the immense responsibility that comes with a winning bid. It seems that, more than any impending Summer Games, the 2012 bid has garnered substantial media and public attention and scrutiny well before the host city was due to be decided. Never before has the competition been so close and packed with an almost tangible tension. The five cities to make it to the final round have gone to tremendous lengths to prove to the world that their bid is the most worthy. Madrid, Moscow, Paris, London, and New York are battling it out in this battle of metropolises to see who will be the last city standing in this global political, civic, athletic, and financial battle of pride to be known as the 2012 host city. This book aims to condense what is a mountain of numbers and documents diligently presented by each candidate city into information that is slightly simpler to understand for outsiders to give the reader a clearer view into the rather exclusive and often unforgiving world of planning to host the Summer Games. Also by Chetan Dave: Bronx Cheer For more information logon to: www. chetandave.com or www.ultimatewriter.com

The Olympic Games is a unique event centering global interest on its host city. The financing of the Games has changed dramatically since Munich (1972) and economic interests and effects are increasingly paramount. It is therefore an anomaly that accurate economic analysis and comparison is not readily available. This is the most detailed study on the economic implications of recent and future Olympic Games over four decades. Holger Preuss analyses the most important issues surrounding the hosting of the Olympics, and its wider economic effects, including: * financial gigantism of the Olympic Games * commercialisation and its control * problems associated with achieving the Olympic requirements and standards * the economic legacy of Olympic Games * the feasibility of developing countries staging future Olympic Games * detailed post Olympic analysis of financial figures * conclusions on the economic related achievements of respective Organising Committees. Academics and researchers of sports economics, international economics, international business and competition will all find this fascinating book of great value. The rigorous and authoritative analysis ensures valuable information will be available for future bid cities, and in a wider context, any city planning to bid for a major sporting event. It will also appeal to those interested in the broader context of the Olympic Games and concerned by their commercialisation and gigantism.

"In this book on the spectacular races at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, Bill Stowe writes with the same deadly accuracy and drive that he showed as the stroke of that crew. He writes not as his own remembrances would be so long after the fact, but rather in the tightly woven factual web of interviews of rowers from around the world. This is a compelling book because it develops the diverse backgrounds and experiences that a small group of men brought for the sole purpose of winning a gold medal in the Olympics. It was so momentous that this feat has not been repeated for the United States for 40 years, and then only with the force of a truly national effort and all of the weight and backing that that brings. Vesper is a storied club and it is in this romantic context that this group of lightly regarded mature men won for their club, their city and their country. Each man brings a special facet of himself to build the mosaic that created the perfect mix. This is a compelling story, intricately researched and crisply written that makes it a must for people who dream and who want to succeed." Allen P. Rosenberg
Coach of the 1964 Olympic Crew ""ALL TOGETHER" is an inspirational story about one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. A must read for any American who has ever picked up an oar" Mike Teti
Coach of the 2004 Olympic Crew

The extraordinary true story of the U.S. sled hockey team that overcame physical adversity and internal strife to win Paralympic gold. When former NHL star Rick Middleton accepted the position of head coach for the United States sled hockey team, he wasn't sure what to expect. The program had never medaled-had never even come close, in fact. But where Middleton might have found despair, he instead found an incredible group of men who had battled their way back from hell to play the sport they love. In Hockey's Hidden Gods: The Untold Story of a Paralympic Miracle on Ice, S.C. Megale uncovers the remarkable tale of a team that shocked the world by taking U.S. sled hockey from worst to first in the 2002 Paralympics. Odds of winning were dismal. The road to victory seemed unfathomable. But this cast of fifteen athletes with disabilities, athletes who had helped build a groundbreaking U.S. sled hockey program with almost no outside support, ultimately persevered on the global stage. Featuring a fascinating history of sled hockey, exclusive interviews with players and coaches, action-packed game coverage, and intimate profiles sharing the players' personal journeys, Hockey's Hidden Gods is the uplifting story of how once-shattered dreams can be reborn and rebuilt through tenacity, grit, and an indomitable spirit.