The complete book of the Olympics - David Wallechinsky

Between the covers of this encyclopaedic book should be everything anyone could possibly need or want to know about the modern Olympic Games. There is a complete statistical record of every event since the foundation of the modern Games in 1896 - whether it be one of the highlights such as the 100 metres or the marathon, newcomers like trampolining and tae kwon do, or a long-discontinued discipline such as Olympic cricket.;But the book offers more than the bare facts and figures. David Wallechinsky has sieved through more than a century of Olympic history to assemble a wealth of thought-provoking analysis and a collection of anecdotes and dramas that range from the inspiring, through the comic to the bizarre. The topics range from issues such as drug use and corruption to long-forgotten characters such as the boy who was plucked from the streets of Paris to act as cox for two Dutch oarsmen in the paired-oar event in 1900 and, after steering them to victory and a Gold Medal, returned to obscurity, his name unknown to this day.;This edition, fully updated to include the results of the Sydney Olympics and with hundreds of new anecdotes and observations added, aims to be a "bible" for sport fans following the drama of Athens 2004.