Overview

This is the first complete history of the Games' most storied race. From ancient Greece to Atlanta 1996, the book chronicles the race's development—the heroes, the controversies, and the stories that emerged from the ultimate Olympic challenge. For the first time, the complete history of the most famous race in the Olympic Games has been presented in Olympic Marathon—A Centennial History of the Games' Most Storied Race. Beginning with the legends of ancient Greece, this book traces the process of reviving the Olympic movement, including the establishment of the marathon—the only event specifically created for the 1896 Olympics. Following heroes such as Dorando Pietri, Emil Zatopek, Abebe Bikila, and Frank Shorter, the book includes a complete analysis of every Olympic marathon as well as tales from the lives of the runners. The stories of John Hayes, who won the race with the help of strychnine; 1936 winner Sohn Kee Chung, a South Korean forced to compete for Japan; and Mamo Wolde, who won the marathon with an infected toe only to end up as a political prisoner in Ethiopia, make this book much more than a sports history. The story of the long struggle to establish a women's marathon begins with a lonely female who ran the marathon course in 1896 and ends with the dramatic victory of American Joan Benoit in the first women's Olympic marathon in 1984. Completely up to date, the book concludes with chapters on the races in Atlanta in 1996, including the closest finish in Olympic marathon history. An appendix, photographs, and an index complete this history. An invaluable resource for all interested in the Olympics and marathon running.

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9780275957711

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Reviews

?Lovett examines the Olympic marathon race from its inception in 1896 through each Olympic game. His book is filled with historical facts and significant details about each marathon from start to finish. The character of the runners is often described, which makes the events more vivid to the reader.... This book is the first comprehensive work on what the author calls 'the most unpredictable contest, ' the Olympic marathon. Highly recommended for all those interested in the Olympic Games and especially for runners.?-Choice

Lovett examines the Olympic marathon race from its inception in 1896 through each Olympic game. His book is filled with historical facts and significant details about each marathon from start to finish. The character of the runners is often described, which makes the events more vivid to the reader.... This book is the first comprehensive work on what the author calls 'the most unpredictable contest, ' the Olympic marathon. Highly recommended for all those interested in the Olympic Games and especially for runners. -Choice The real strength of Lovett's book is in its recounting of each Olympic marathon....As a reference book for those interested in who participated, who won which marathon, when, where, and in what fashion, this book should be very useful. -OLYMPIKA: The International Journal of Olympic Studies ?The real strength of Lovett's book is in its recounting of each Olympic marathon....As a reference book for those interested in who participated, who won which marathon, when, where, and in what fashion, this book should be very useful.?-OLYMPIKA: The International Journal of Olympic Studies ?Lovett examines the Olympic marathon race from its inception in 1896 through each Olympic game. His book is filled with historical facts and significant details about each marathon from start to finish. The character of the runners is often described, which makes the events more vivid to the reader.... This book is the first comprehensive work on what the author calls 'the most unpredictable contest, ' the Olympic marathon. Highly recommended for all those interested in the Olympic Games and especially for runners.?-Choice

Author Information

CHARLIE LOVETT is the author of Alice on Stage, Lewis Carroll's Alice, and Everybody's Guide to Book Collecting. He is the editor of The Proceedings of the Second International Lewis Carroll Conference and a series editor of The Complete Pamphlets of Lewis Carroll. He started researching the Olympic Marathon in 1976 for a school project and ran his first and only marathon in 1979.

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