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Olympic Marathon A Centennial History of the Games' Most Storied Race
(Click to Enlarge)
By Charlie Lovett
ISBN: 0-275-95771-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-95771-1
192 pages, photographs
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 4/30/1997
List Price: $86.95 (UK Sterling Price: £49.95)
Availability:
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: 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
  • 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
Description: 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.
Table of Contents:
  • List of Illustrations
  • Prologue--The Legend
  • The Races--Men
  • The Games of the I Olympiad--Athens, 1896
  • The Games of the II Olympiad--Paris, 1900
  • The Games of the III Olympiad--St. Louis, 1904
  • The Intercalated Games--Athens, 1906
  • The Games of the IV Olympiad--London, 1908
  • The Games of the V Olympiad--Stockholm, 1912
  • The Games of the VII Olympiad--Antwerp, 1920
  • The Games of the VIII Olympiad--Paris, 1924
  • The Games of the IX Olympiad--Amsterdam, 1928
  • The Games of the X Olympiad--Los Angeles, 1932
  • The Games of the XI Olympiad--Berlin, 1936
  • The Games of the XIV Olympiad--London, 1948
  • The Games of the XV Olympiad--Helsinki, 1952
  • The Games of the XVI Olympiad--Melbourne, 1956
  • The Games of the XVII Olympiad--Rome, 1960
  • The Games of the XVIII Olympiad--Tokyo, 1964
  • The Games of the XIX Olympiad--Mexico City, 1968
  • The Games of the XX Olympiad--Munich, 1972
  • The Games of the XXI Olympiad--Montreal, 1976
  • The Games of the XXII Olympiad--Moscow, 1980
  • The Games of the XXIII Olympiad--Los Angeles, 1984
  • The Games of the XXIV Olympiad--Seoul, 1988
  • The Games of the XXV Olympiad--Barcelona, 1992
  • The Games of the XXVI Olympiad--Atlanta, 1996
  • The Women
  • The Fight to Establish the Women's Race
  • The Games of the XXIII Olympiad--Los Angeles, 1984
  • The Games of the XXIV Olympiad--Seoul, 1988
  • The Games of the XXV Olympiad--Barcelona, 1992
  • The Games of the XXVI Olympiad--Atlanta, 1996
  • Epilogue
  • Appendix: Top Finishers in the Olympic Marathon, 1896-1996
  • Notes
  • Select Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 96-47618
LCC Class: GV1065
Dewey Class: 796
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