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Olympic Marathon A Centennial History of the Games' Most Storied Race
(Click to Enlarge)
Charlie Lovett
ISBN: 0-275-95771-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-95771-1
192 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 4/30/1997
List Price: $86.95 (UK Sterling Price: £59.95)
Availability: Print on demand
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Description: 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.
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
About the Author: 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.
LCC Class: 796
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