| I Just Ran: Percy Williams, World's Fastest Human Contributor(s): Hawley, Samuel (Author) |
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ISBN: 1553801261 ISBN-13: 9781553801269 Publisher: Ronsdale Press OUR PRICE: $21.56 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Sports - Sports & Recreation | Running & Jogging |
| Dewey: B |
| Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6" W x 8.9" (1.20 lbs) 332 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Literary Nonfiction. Biography. Canadian History. Sports. At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics an unknown Vancouver runner named Percy Williams shocked the sports world by capturing the 100- and 200-meter gold medals. Some said the feat was a fluke. It wasn't. In 1929 Percy silenced naysayers by sweeping the US indoor track circuit, then he went on to set a world record in the 100 meters that would stand until the arrival of Jesse Owens. And in between he waged a speed duel with the fleetest men on the planet, a battle for track supremacy and the title World's Fastest Human. Based on extensive research that included access to Percy's private letters, diary and scrapbooks, I JUST RAN is the first full-length account of this sports legend, one of the most famous Canadians of his day but now largely forgotten. It begins as the Cinderella story of a youth who conquers a sport dominated by American sprinters. Then it gets grittier, for success and fame had a dark side. I Just Ran follows Percy and his janitor-coach Bob Granger as they journey through the world of elite running in the 1920s and 30s--a world that was not always pretty beneath the veneer of amateurism. |
Contributor Bio(s): Hawley, Samuel: - Samuel Hawley is a Kingston-based historian, writer and former teacher. His books include Speed Duel: The Inside Story of the Land Speed Record in the Sixties, The Imjin War: Japanese Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China, and America's Man in Korea. His website is www.samuelhawley.com |