British Olympic Heroes

Eminently readable, fun, fact- filled, fully illustrated - and now updated again to include the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro- this entertaining and informative handbook is essential reading for all sports fans, couch potatoes and patriots. First published in 2011 with a Foreword by Sir Chris Hoy, and reprinted in 2012, British Olympic Heroes now features almost 100 outstanding athletes from Great Britain's 120-year record of unbroken attendance at the Olympic Games. Those included are not necessarily the most famous; they are, rather, the most arresting, whose sporting and private lives have been inspiring and impressive or sometimes downright incredible. All key statistics as well as many little-known facts are included. Many of Britain's gold medallists have left a lasting legacy, while some made barely a ripple. In this book you will find champions like Seb Coe, Chris Hoy, Kelly Holmes and Steve Redgrave - household names who have inspired countless others - as well as our more recent heroes such as Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah and Andy Murray.There are those like Tommy Green and the Doherty brothers who overcame adversity and emerged victorious, and others like Max Woosnam, whose truly amazing prowess is all but forgotten today (and who once beat Charlie Chaplin at table tennis, playing with a butter knife!
). And in spite of the title, the book would be the poorer without at least a passing mention of our spectacular failures and unlucky losers, like Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards and Philip Plater. Our favourite partnerships are also here - Torvill & Dean, the three Blondes in a Boat, Harry Llewellyn & Foxhunter, Nash & Dixon, along with the heroes of old - Eric Liddell, Viv Woodward, 'Leaping' Lord Burghley, Harold Abrahams, Kitty Godfree and many, many more. Every entry is illustrated, and sections include: * New entries on 2016 medallists * Olympic Timeline featuring key facts and interesting asides * Table of all British gold medallists from 1896 to the present * Glorious failures and unlucky losers* Bibliography and index