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Cargando... Dirtiest Race in History: Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and the Olympic 100m Final (Wisden Sports Writing)por Richard Moore
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. Enjoyable and saddening. Doesn't quite feel satisfying by the end, but you can only get out the protagonists what they are prepared to say. Well worth a look for those interested in the event. ( ) Like most Canadians who were alive in 1988, I not only remember where I was when Ben Johnson won the 100 metre race in Seoul, but I remember where I was when the scandal broke. I was so disappointed in him for taking drugs and cheating that it made my journal at the time! I didn't know that since that day, 5 other participants in that race have been found to be cheating through drugs as well, but in light of the recent Lance Armstrong scandal, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This book was fascinating and I'm afraid that I don't watch the Olympics with the same wide-eyed naivety as I did when I was a child. Too much money involved. First up, I will reveal that sport is not my thing. During the Olympics I was up watching the swimming, yes. However, anything else is of cursory interest. So, when I received this rather large book on a single race run in less than ten seconds, twenty-four years ago, I wasn’t doing the happy dance. How can you write a considerably large book about that? But the book isn’t just about the race. It’s about the doping and the rivalry that led up to the race. And that is a fascinating subject. The race wasn’t just about winning. It was also about two men, Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson who were personally and morally opposed and what this race meant to them financially and emotionally. And then there's the handlers and coaches and finincial under-the-table deals that will boggle you. It’s gripping and suspenseful and as the race nears, towards the end of the book, almost impossible to stop reading. When I’d finished I felt like I’d run the race. Having read this and The Secret Olympian back to back, I’m becoming quite the knowledgeable sports person, which if you knew me is very funny. The power of books to educate as well as entertain should never be discounted. Sports fans this is an entertaining book you simply must read. Visit for more reviews. http://anadventureinreading.blogspot.com.au/ I did not think that this book would be so intriguing considering it is old news, but the author has woven together a great story contrasting two fascinating athletes. It is also a timely portrayal and brings to mind how let down we are as sports fans to see that the contests that were so gripping to us at the time were later found out to be unfair and "dirty". Considering what is going on in the press with Lance Armstrong, this book is of particular interest. This book does an excellent job of analyzing the personalities of these two incredible athletes, and their relationships with their coaches. The author was able to gather some interesting insight from interviews with individuals long after the famous Seoul 100m contest. A note to the editor -- this book contains many typos!
Johnson's and Lewis's hatred for each other is stamped on nearly every page of this book, but the real strength of Moore's account is his depiction of the secondary characters, a cast of megalomaniacal managers and coaches who seem inspired by Victor Frankenstein to push the limits of science and the human body. Premios
The 1988 Seoul Olympics played host to what has been described by some as the dirtiest race of all time, by others as the greatest. The final of the men's 100 metres at those Olympics is certainly the most infamous in the history of athletics, and more indelibly etched into the consciousness of the sport, the Olympics, and a global audience of millions, than any other athletics event before or since. Ben Johnson's world-record time of 9.79 seconds - as thrilling as it was - was the beginning rather than the end of the story. Following the race, Johnson tested positive, news that generated as many - if not more - shockwaves as his fastest ever run. He was stripped of the title, Lewis was awarded the gold medal, Linford Christie the silver and Calvin Smith the bronze. More than two decades on, the story still hadn't ended. In 1999 Lewis was named Sportsman of the Century by the IOC, and Olympian of the Century by Sports Illustrated. Yet his reputation was damaged by revelations that he too used performance- enhancing drugs, and tested positive prior to the Seoul Olympics. Christie also tested positive in Seoul but his explanation, that the banned substance had been in ginseng tea, was accepted. Smith, now a lecturer in English literature at a Florida university, was the only athlete in the top five whose reputation remains unblemished - the others all tested positive at some stage in their careers. Containing remarkable new revelations, this book uses witness interviews - with Johnson, Lewis and Smith among others - to reconstruct the build-up to the race, the race itself, and the fallout when news of Johnson's positive test broke and he was forced into hiding. It also examines the rivalry of the two favourites going into it, and puts the race in a historical context, examining its continuing relevance on the sport today, where every new record elicits scepticism. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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