The Complete Book of the Olympics 2004

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.