Opening with the tragedy of Nomar Kumaritashvili's death in Whistler and concluding with one final gold for the hockey-mad home country, the fortnight of the Vancouver Olympics brought out the range of human emotion -- from gilded joy to funereal gloom. In this volume, Zach Bigalke utilizes both his daily dispatches from February 2010 and the benefit of hindsight to tell the multifaceted stories of those seventeen days...

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

This title presents gripping story chronicling the history of the Wenlock Olympian Games, the pre-cursor to the modern Olympics. It includes a detailed Athletes Biographies section, listing every competitor that took part between 1850-95. It also includes a fascinating captioned picture section of vintage photographs. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, London Mayor Boris Johnson memorably said of London 2012 that 'Ping-Pong is coming home'. In fact, he might justifiably have said that 'the modern Olympic movement is coming home'. In 1850, Shropshire doctor William Penny Brookes began Olympian Games for the 'moral, physical and intellectual improvement' of the local population of Wenlock Borough. Within a decade he had donated a prize for athletics in Athens and was urging the Greeks to revive their ancient Games. He had also begun agitating for physical education to be compulsory at primary schools in England, an effort he sustained until the measure was finally passed in 1894. Brookes, with help from John Hulley of Liverpool and Ernst Ravenstein of London, staged Britain's first National Olympian Games at the Crystal Palace in 1866. W.G. Grace won the 440yd hurdles while simultaneously playing cricket for England at the Oval. Wenlock's annual games became an important focus for the growing band of men developing sport in Britain, but Brookes's egalitarian views on sport - that it should embrace all classes - temporarily fell foul of amateur exclusivity. In 1890, Baron Pierre de Coubertin travelled to Much Wenlock, met Brookes and watched the Wenlock Olympian Games. Within two years, Coubertin had decided to revive Olympic Games as an international sporting championship, and in 1896, the first of the IOC's Olympic Games were held in Athens. Brookes died just 17 weeks short of seeing international Olympic Games become a reality. In this engaging and lively account, Catherine Beale tells the story of the Wenlock Olympian Games, considers their influence on the modern Olympics, and shows why Coubertin, though he failed fully to credit Brookes's contribution to the movement, concluded that 'The Wenlock people alone have preserved and followed the true Olympian traditions'.

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.

It is said the champions of the ancient Olympic Games received a crown of olive leaves, symbolizing a divine blessing from Nike, the winged goddess of victory. While the mythology of the ancient games has come to exemplify the highest political, religious, community, and individual ideals of the time, the modern Olympic Games, by comparison, are widely known as an international, bi-annual sporting event where champions have the potential to earn not only glory for their country, but lucrative endorsement deals and the perks of worldwide fame. The Olympics and Philosophy examines the Olympic Movement from a variety of theoretical perspectives to uncover the connection between athleticism and philosophy for a deeper appreciation of the Olympic Pillars of Sport, Environment, and Culture. While today's Olympic champions are neither blessed by the gods nor rewarded with wreaths of olive, the original spirit and ancient ideals of the Olympic Movement endure in its modern embodiment. Editors Heather L. Reid and Michael W. Austin have assembled a team of international scholars to explore topics such as the concept of excellence, ethics, doping, gender, and race. Interweaving ancient and modern Olympic traditions, The Olympics and Philosophy considers the philosophical implications of the Games' intersection with historical events and modern controversy in a unique analysis of tradition and the future of the Olympiad.

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.

The ceremonial practice of Weightlifting contests presents a great dilemma for athletes, their coaches, and the countries, which they represent. This book deals with the performance of Weightlifters during the events of contest. Such performance is affected by the lifter's sense that his/her performance during the contest might be the best and/or the last athletic event of his/her life, the prime time to shine as a new star in the most competitive sport of force, power, and grace. For the coach, Weightlifting contests present the greatest challenge on many levels. First, Weightlifting coaches do not earn any appreciable financial return from the sport, other than getting connection to people of influence. Thus, the coach's drive for winning is mostly his passion and time-long dedication to the sport. Second, the lifter represents a great uncertainty to the coach during the unusual stress of contests. Slight disturbance in sleep, diet, or other social distractions could influence the performance of the lifter beyond prediction. Third, the planning of the lifts and adjusting of the lifter bodyweight are serious issues, which the coach must manage effectively in order to accomplish the best of his lifter's assets. In this book, the author dedicates chapters 1 and 2 for warming up during the contest, emphasizing the basic rules of using dummy objects in rehearsing the full range-of- motion of the Weightlifting exercises. That is followed up with warming up with maximal weight as the trial time approaches. Chapter 3 deals with planning the first lift when lifter is advanced among his/her competitors. Chapter 8 discusses the strategy of staying-in to avoid getting removed from the contest, as a result of failed trials. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 discuss three different lifting styles by a Romanian, Russian, and Turkish lifters. Chapter 7 is the largest chapter in the book and deals with toe-to-toe racing for winning the Gold. Here, lifters must plan to maximize the sum of two lifts (the Snatch and the Clean/Jerk) by increasing the weight of the barbell over three trials, for each of the two lifts. The lifter cannot lower the weight if he failed in lifting a higher weight. The heaviest lift of the three trials makes the valid score in that lift, by that lifter. The strategy of planning for winning when lifters might be tied by bodyweights, in the event of lifting the same total in the two lifts, is also discussed. Women Weightlifters are covered in chapter 9, 10, and 11. Those three chapters discuss the particular issues related to women's musculoskeletal anatomy that differentiates women lifters from men. Finally, chapters 12 and 13 discuss the technical issues of failure in Weightlifting contests. The book should help the reader relate to the scarce and precious moments in life, when athletes accomplish the most formidable tasks of enhancing health, strength, and fitness at the best of human endeavors. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Warming Up With 20 kg Bar Chapter 2. Warming Up With Maximal Load Chapter 3. Planning The First Lift in Clean/Jerk Chapter 4. Russian Male Lifting Style Chapter 5. The Top Male Lifter Chapter 6. Lifting On Wide Knee-Separation Chapter 7. Kilogram-To-Kilogram Racing Chapter 8. Staying In Contest Chapter 9. Short-limbed Woman Lifter Chapter 10. The Women Lifter Chapter 11. Women's Snatch Chapter 12. Dealing With Failure. Case 1 Chapter 13. Dealing With Failure. Case 2

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.

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

Containing over 1000 questions on all aspects of the Summer Olympic Games, this book is a comprehensive test of sporting and general knowledge. Varied and challenging, the questions are divided into four chapters: Olympic history, Olympic sports, Olympic numbers, and Olympic mixture. Each chapter brings out some fascinating facts about the biggest show in world sport and builds into an ideal resource for fans of the Olympics and quizzes alike.

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.

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.

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

Literary Nonfiction. Memoir. WOBBLES spans the physical, psychological and spiritual growth of an athlete from childhood into her stature as a fierce, Olympic competitor. When Nadine Neumann decides that she wants to be an Olympic swimmer at age eight, she trades a normal life of school friends and parties for the rigors of elite sports training. With acute honesty, wisdom and humour, Nadine spins readers through the heartaches and loneliness of a different kind of adolescence. Enduring and overcoming Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a life-threatening accident and imposed breaks from her passion, Nadine pursues her dream as only an Olympian can--with the rarest of intensity and focus. Sweeping from Perth to Germany, India to Sydney, Brisbane to Hong Kong, the reader is invited along this journey of a remarkable young woman who stops at nothing to achieve her goals.

From the critically acclaimed and bestselling author David Maraniss, a groundbreaking book that weaves sports, politics, and history into a tour de force about the 1960 Rome Olympics, eighteen days of theater, suspense, victory, and defeat

David Maraniss draws compelling portraits of the athletes competing in Rome, including some of the most honored in Olympic history: decathlete Rafer Johnson, sprinter Wilma Rudolph, Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila, and Louisville boxer Cassius Clay, who at eighteen seized the world stage for the first time, four years before he became Muhammad Ali.

Along with these unforgettable characters and dramatic contests, there was a deeper meaning to those late-summer days at the dawn of the sixties. Change was apparent everywhere. The world as we know it was coming into view.

Rome saw the first doping scandal, the first commercially televised Summer Games, the first athlete paid for wearing a certain brand of shoes. Old-boy notions of Olympic amateurism were crumbling and could never be taken seriously again. In the heat of the cold war, the city teemed with spies and rumors of defections. Every move was judged for its propaganda value. East and West Germans competed as a unified team less than a year before the Berlin Wall.There was dispute over the two Chinas. An independence movement was sweeping sub-Saharan Africa, with fourteen nations in the process of being born. There was increasing pressure to provide equal rights for blacks and women as they emerged from generations of discrimination.

Using the meticulous research and sweeping narrative style that have become his trademark, Maraniss reveals the rich palate of character, competition, and meaning that gave Rome 1960 its singular essence.

Mexican leaders eagerly anticipated the attention that hosting the world's most visible sporting event would bring, yet they could not have predicted the array of conflicts that would play out before the eyes of the world during the notorious 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Following twenty years of economic growth and political stability-known as the "Mexican miracle"-Mexican policy makers escaped their prior image of being economically underdeveloped to successfully craft an image of a nation that was both modern and cosmopolitan but also steeped in culture and tradition. Buoyed by this new image, they set their sights on the Olympic bid, and they not only won but also prepared impressive facilities. Prior to the opening ceremonies, several controversies emerged, the most glaring of which was a student protest movement that culminated in a public massacre, leaving several hundred students dead. Less dramatic were concerns that athletes would suffer harm in the high elevation and thin air, debates over the nature of amateurism, threats by nations opposing apartheid to boycott if South Africa was allowed to compete, and the introduction of drug and gender testing. Additionally the Olympics provided a forum for the United States and the Soviet Union to carry their Cold War rivalry to the playing field-a way to achieve victory without world destruction at stake. During the Games, one of the most significant controversies occurred when two African American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, raised their fists in the Black Power salute while on the medal stand. This gesture brought worldwide attention to racism within the United States and remains a lasting image of both the Mexico City Olympics and the Civil Rights movement. Although the Olympics are intended to bring athletes of the world together for harmonious competition, the 1968 Games will long be remembered as fraught with discord. This ambitious and comprehensive study will appeal to those interested in US history, Latin American history, sports history, and Olympic 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.

Digger, an 85 kilo wrestler, and Sadie, a 26-year-old speed swimmer, stand on the verge of realizing every athlete' s dream-- winning a gold medal at the Olympics. Both athletes are nearing the end of their athletic careers, and are forced to confront the question: what happens to athletes when their bodies are too old and injured to compete? The blossoming relationship between Digger and Sadie is tested in the all-important months leading up to the Olympics, as intense training schedules, divided loyalties, and unpredicted obstacles take their draining toll. The Olympics, as both of them are painfully aware, will be the realization or the end of a life' s dream. The Bone Cage captures the physicality, sensuality, and euphoric highs of amateur sport, and the darker, cruel side of sport programs that wear athletes down and spit them out at the end of their bloom. With realism and humour, author Angie Abdou captures athletes on the brink of that transition-- the lead-up to that looming redefinition of self-- and explores how people deal with the loss of their dream.

IN 1936, Adolf Hitler welcomed the world to Berlin to attend the Olympic Games. It promised to be not only a magnificent sporting event but also a grand showcase for the rebuilt Germany. No effort was spared to present the Third Reich as the newest global power. But beneath the glittering surface, the Games of the Eleventh Olympiad of the Modern Era came to act as a crucible for the dark political forces that were gathering, foreshadowing the bloody conflict to come.

The 1936 Olympics were nothing less than the most political sporting event of the last century--an epic clash between proponents of barbarism and those of civilization, both of whom tried to use the Games to promote their own values. Berlin Games is the complete history of those fateful two weeks in August. It is a story of the athletes and their accomplishments, an eye-opening account of the Nazi machine's brazen attempt to use the Games as a model of Aryan superiority and fascist efficiency, and a devastating indictment of the manipulative power games of politicians, diplomats, and Olympic officials that would ultimately have profound consequences for the entire world.

"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 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

"What was it like to attend the ancient Olympic Games?
With the summer Olympics' return to Athens, Tony Perrottet delves into the ancient world and lets the Greek Games begin again. The acclaimed author of Pagan Holiday brings attitude, erudition, and humor to the fascinating story of the original Olympic festival, tracking the event day by day to re-create the experience in all its compelling spectacle.
Using firsthand reports and little-known sources--including an actual "Handbook for a Sports Coach used by the Greeks--The Naked Olympics creates a vivid picture of an extravaganza performed before as many as forty thousand people, featuring contests as timeless as the javelin throw and as exotic as the chariot race.
Peeling away the layers of myth," Perrottet lays bare the ancient sporting experience--including the round-the-clock bacchanal inside the tents of the Olympic Village, the all-male nude workouts under the statue of Eros, and history's first corruption scandals involving athletes. Featuring sometimes scandalous cameos by sports enthusiasts Plato, Socrates, and Herodotus, The Naked Olympics offers essential insight into today's Games and an unforgettable guide to the world's first and most influential athletic festival.
"Just in time for the modern Olympic games to return to Greece this summer for the first time in more than a century, Tony Perrottet offers up a diverting primer on the Olympics of the ancient kind....Well researched; his sources are as solid as sources come. It's also well writen....Perhaps no book of the season will show us so briefly and entertainingly just how complete is our inheritance from the Greeks, vulgarity and all."
--TheWashington Post

According to most accounts, the man solely responsible for reviving the modern Olympic Games was Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Now, in "The Modern Olympics," David C. Young challenges this view, revealing that Coubertin was only the last and most successful of many contributors to the dream of the modern Olympics.

Based on thirteen years of research in previously neglected documents, Young reconstructs the fascinating and almost unknown history of the Olympic revival movement in the nineteenth century, including two long-forgotten Olympiads--one in London in 1866 and another in Athens in 1870. He traces the idea for the modern Olympics back to an obscure Greek poet in 1833 and follows the sinuous tale to a small village in England, where W. P. Brookes held local Olympiads, founded the British Olympic Committee, and told Coubertin about his vision of an international Olympics.

Coubertin's main contribution to the founding of the modern Olympics was the zeal he brought to transforming an idea that had evolved over decades into the reality of Olympiad I and all the Olympic Games held thereafter.