A Lifetime of Training for Just Ten Seconds
Olympians in their own words| By: | Richard Witt |
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury UK |
| Print ISBN: | 9781408164037 |
| eText ISBN: | 9781408179574 |
| Edition: | 1 |
| Copyright: | 2012 |
| Format: | Reflowable |
eBook Features
Instant Access
Purchase and read your book immediately
Read Offline
Access your eTextbook anytime and anywhere
Study Tools
Built-in study tools like highlights and more
Read Aloud
Listen and follow along as Bookshelf reads to you
'I hope the Romanian doesn't get through, because I can't pronounce her bloody name.'
Allegedly from David Coleman, British radio and TV commentator, at one of his many Olympic coverages, when he thought he was off air.
A Lifetime of Training for Just 10 Seconds is a collection of quotations from Olympic athletes, eyewitnesses and commentators through the ages, whether written, broadcast, overheard or misreported. They are inspiring, devastating - often hilarious - and a fascinating insight into the Games, the people who watch and compete in them, and those labouring and slithering behind the scenes. The notes following the quotes give a potted history of the Games and its cast of characters.
'These are the Olympics; you die before you quit.'
The great American discus thrower, Al Oerter, winner of four successive gold medals (1956-1968). For the third of these in Tokyo, he competed despite excruciating pain from a torn rib cartilage, strapped up and iced.