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The Olympics' Strangest Moments: Extraordinary but True Tales from the History of the Olympic Games »

Authors: Geoff Tibballs
ISBN-13: 9781861057112, ISBN-10: 1861057113
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Anova Books
Date Published: March 2005
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: Geoff Tibballs

Book Synopsis

The world's greatest sporting occasion is rife with odd occurrences and unlikely heroes. Witness Dorando Pietri, who missed out on marathon gold after being helped over the finish line by over-anxious officials.

Part of the Strangest... series. Endlessly entertaining, these albums of mad miscellany abound with true tales of history's strangest characters and events--from potty potentates to dotty inventions. A mind-boggling excursion through the byways of the bizarre.

	Introduction	ix
	A Leap into the Unknown: Athens, 6 April 1896	1
	The First Olympic Marathon: Athens, 10 April 1896	5
	The Big Chill: Athens, 11 April 1896	9
	Duffey's Disaster: Paris, 14 July 1900	11
	Never on a Sunday: Paris, 15 July 1900	14
	The Boy Champion: Paris, 26 August 1900	17
	The Marathon Impostor: St Louis, 30 August 1904	19
	The Man with the Wooden Leg: St Louis, 28 October 1904	24
	The Champion Who Never Was: London, 11 July 1908	26
	The Jostling Match: London, 23 July 1908	29
	The Perils of the Pool: London, 24 July 1908	32
	Her Majesty's Pleasure: London, 24 July 1908	34
	The Endless Bout: Stockholm, 14 July 1912	41
	The Picnic Case: Stockholm, 14 July 1912	43
	Lost in the Translation: Antwerp, 16 August 1920	47
	Sick as a Guillemot: Antwerp, 20 August 1920	50
	The Abandoned Soccer Final: Antwerp, 2 September 1920	53
	The American Rugby Champions: Paris, 18 May 1924	55
	No Gold for a World Record: Paris, 7 July 1924	59
	Nurmi's Historic Double: Paris, 10 July 1924	61
	The Brousse-Mallin Affair: Paris, 18 July 1924	65
	The Titanic Survivor: Paris, 21 July 1924	68
	The First Woman Track Champion: Amsterdam, 31 July 1928	71
	The Fairer Sex: Amsterdam, 2 August 1928	74
	A Case of Interference: Los Angeles, 5 August 1932	77
	The Illegal Jump: Los Angeles, 7 August 1932	82
	Peru Pull Out: Berlin, 8 August 1936	87
	A Fatal Slip: Berlin, 9 August 1936	90
	The Missing Boat: Berlin, 14 August 1936	92
	Courage Beyond the Call of Duty: Berlin, 16 August 1936	95
	One Lap Short: London, 30 July 1948	97
	Changing Hands: London, 4 August 1948	102
	Two Unsung Heroes: Helsinki, 26 July 1952	104
	Walk Don't Run: Helsinki, 27 July 1952	106
	Soviet Storm: Helsinki, 27 July 1952	108
	Attack on the Referee: Helsinki, 28 July 1952	110
	A Great Dane: Helsinki, 29 July 1952	112
	The Non-Trier: Helsinki, 2 August 1952	114
	A Boxing Match Under Water: Melbourne, 6 December 1956	116
	Photographic Evidence: Melbourne, 7 December 1956	120
	Death on the Track: Rome, 26 August 1960	123
	Larson Timed Out: Rome, 26 August 1960	125
	The Big Fix: Rome, 31 August 1960	129
	The Barefoot Maestro: Rome, 10 September 1960	131
	The Year of the Sex Olympics: Tokyo, 15 October 1964	134
	Breaking the Pain Barrier: Tokyo, 15 October 1964	136
	The Great Sit-In: Tokyo, 19 October 1964	139
	Black Power: Mexico City, 16 October 1968	141
	One Giant Leap for Mankind: Mexico City, 18 October 1968	145
	The Fosbury Flop: Mexico City, 20 October 1968	150
	Never Too Late: Mexico City, 20 October 1968	153
	Timed Out: Munich, 31 August 1972	156
	Poles Apart: Munich, 2 September 1972	159
	The Ticking Clock: Munich, 10 September 1972	162
	The Man in Orange: Munich, 10 September 1972	168
	A Rigged Weapon: Montreal, 19 July 1976	171
	The Gymnast with the Broken Knee: Montreal, 20 July 1976	176
	The Other Jimmy Carter: Moscow, 27 July 1980	179
	The Long Last Lap: Los Angeles, 5 August 1984	182
	An Innocent Victim: Los Angeles, 9 August 1984	186
	Enjoy the Trip: Los Angeles, 10 August 1984	189
	The Death Threat: Los Angeles, 12 August 1984	196
	A Headache for Greg: Seoul, 19 September 1988	198
	Platform for Protest: Seoul, 19 September 1988	202
	Chaos in the Ring: Seoul, 21 September 1988	204
	The Test that Shook the World: Seoul, 24 September 1988	209
	He Who Hesitates: Seoul, 25 September 1988	215
	Internal Strife: Barcelona, 31 July 1992	217
	The 200 Metres Hop: Barcelona, 3 August 1992	220
	A Tale of Two Countries: Barcelona, 3 August 1992	224
	Synchronised Mayhem: Barcelona, 6 August 1992	227
	The Great Marathon Fraud: Barcelona, 9 August 1992	231
	A Vault to Glory: Atlanta, 23 July 1996	234
	Christie Blows His Top: Atlanta, 27 July 1996	239
	Sailing into a Storm: Atlanta, 31 July 1996	245
	Eric the Eel: Sydney, 19 September 2000	248
	Perec Does a Runner: Sydney, 21 September 2000	253
	We Have Lift-Off: Sydney, 22 September 2000	258
	Ainslie's Revenge: Sydney, 29 September 2000	262
	Bibliography	266