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Back to topEndurance: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Emil Zátopek (Wisden Sports Writing) (Hardcover)
Description
Voted the Greatest Runner of All Time by Runner's World in 2013, Emil Zátopek redefined modern running training techniques--with remarkable results. He is famed for setting a raft of world records and winning the Olympic ten thousand meters in London in 1948, followed by the remarkable and unprecedented wins of the five thousand meters, ten thousand meters, and marathon four years later in Helsinki. His story, however, goes way beyond races and results.
From a lowly factory worker, “the Czech Locomotive” became a global hero. But at a time of political instability Zátopek risked everything for the love of his friends and country and soon found himself cast adrift into political exile.
At its heart, this is a love story, as Emil courts and marries Dana, a promising javelin thrower. Born on the same day, they end up winning Olympic gold medals within half an hour of each other. With the unprecedented involvement of Dana, award-winning Times author Rick Broadbent has gained unique access to a dramatic past involving blood, guns, and the love that sustained beatings by Soviet henchmen and the cruelest twists of fate.
With traces of Chariots of Fire and Laura Hillenbrand's New York Times bestseller and film Unbroken, this is both a beautiful love story and a landmark tale of hope and strength in the face of crushing injustices.
About the Author
Rick Broadbent is an award-winning journalist and author from the United Kingdom. He has been a staff writer at the Times for ten years and spent six years as the paper's sports correspondent. His books include That Near-Death Thing, winner at the British Sports Book Awards 2013 and shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, and Ring of Fire, also shortlisted for the William Hill prize. He was also the ghostwriter of Jessica Ennis's Sunday Times bestselling autobiography.
Praise For…
"Broadbent incorporates the supporting characters seamlessly, and in doing so uses them as a lens to examine the world in which Zátopek lived and competed." - letsrun.com