Running With Fire

Product Description

Immortalised in the film Chariots of Fire Harold Abrahams remains one of the all-time-great British Olympians. But his true story told for the first time in this official biography is in many ways even more dramatic & moving than the distorted version previously seen on the big screen. Although it is true that Abrahams overcame anti-Semitism to become Britains first 100 metres Olympic champion in 1924 Mark Ryans powerful book reveals just how much more Harold suffered
- & had to sacrifice
- on a personal level before he reached the top. His book how disgracefully Harold was treated by his own side in the build-up to Hitlers Berlin Olympics of 1936. Two remarkable love stories provide the back-drop to Abrahams struggle to reach these two historic Games first as an athlete & then as a pioneering broadcaster. Both romances highlight the mental fragility usually masked by Harolds physical prowess & apparent confidence. As the story races on the reader is able to share Abrahams excitement as he realises that Roger Bannister has what it takes to break the four-minute-mile barrier & befriends the runner who soon begins his assault on the Everest of athletics." & finally Ryan shows how Harold not only helped to shape the modern-day rules of the sport as an influential administrator but also did more than any man to make athletics popular in this country. In the build-up to London 2012 there has never been a better time to celebrate Harold Abrahams unique story."