"An indispensable Olympic resource and a lot of pure fun."--Jack McCallum, author of the New York Times bestseller Dream Team Faster! Higher! Stronger! Stranger! A glorious tapestry of legendary characters, forgotten records, crazy accomplishments, unbelievable feats, wacky contests, and controversial moments, Total Olympics is pure pleasure for anyone who loves the world's greatest sporting event. Discover how the modern Games began, in an out-of-the-way Victorian English town named Much Wenlock. Long-discontinued Olympic sports like tug of war, firefighting, live pigeon shooting, and painting. (Picasso for the gold?) And the over-the-top, heroic exploits that make it all so thrilling--like the inspiring story of gymnast Shun Fujimoto who brought his team to victory while fighting through the pain of a broken knee. With hundreds of true stories and stunning photographs, it's a collection of sports yearns unlike any other. An amusing miscellany of more than 100 years of legendary, obscure, hilarious, and inspiring Olympics history, including the heroes, the records, the forgotten moments, the sports themselves (ski ballet? tug of war? firefighting?), the controversies, and the athletes who achieved Olympic glory (or shame). Jeremy Fuchs is a writer, reporter, and editor who has written numerous features and profiles atSports Illustrated and other publications, and co-wrote The Greatest Football Teams of All Time, a book published by Sports Illustrated Kids. He lives in Hoboken, NJ. "Total Olympics is a must-have reference book heading into the Tokyo Games."-SB Nation's Land-Grant Holy Land

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