Search Results for: Sport

Sport can bring out the best in us… and the worst.
The high-pressure world of competitive sport has been shaken over the years by a series of major scandals. Involving drugs, sex, violence, money or pure and simple cheating, these incidents have ruined reputations, fuelled suspicions and shocked loyal supporters. Highlighting some of the most memorable cases from around the world, Norman Ferguson explores both recent and historic instances of dishonesty, betrayal and outrageous unsporting behaviour.
Over 35 scandals, including:
How cancer-survivor Lance Armstrong deceived his fans and cheated his way to seven Tour de France victories The World Cup bidding processes that brought the FBI to FIFA’s door Figure skater Tonya Harding’s sinister plot to break the leg of her rival, Nancy Kerrigan

‘I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one.’
Brian Clough
Sport is the stuff of high drama, big personalities and some very memorable quips. This collection of funny and thoughtful words from across the sporting spectrum is at the top of its game.

An illustrated compendium of kickass women in sport, from around the world and throughout history, including legends like Billie Jean King and modern-day superstars like Simone Biles and Dina Asher-Smith. The perfect book to inspire any sports fan.

Meet your new superheroes

Discover the fascinating stories behind 38 iconic and internationally renowned women in sport, all of them record-breakers, trailblazers and game-changers. Whether from the world of soccer, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, boxing or skiing, every one of these women has been a ground-breaker in her field. It’s time these individuals took centre stage and had their achievements celebrated the world over.

Be empowered and inspired by their extraordinary stories, their awesome achievements and their wonder-words of wisdom with this pocketbook of remarkable women from across the globe and throughout history. Among others, you will learn about the incredible lives and achievements of:
– Simone Biles
– Serena Williams
– Dina Asher-Smith
– Rachael Heyhoe Flint
– Jessica Ennis-Hill
– Nicola Adams
– Danica Patrick
– Paula Radcliffe
– Michelle Kwan
– Megan Rapinoe
– Ellen MacArthur
– Ibtihaj Muhammad
– Ronda Rousey

Each inspiring profile also features a bespoke illustration.

I threw the kitchen sink at him but he went to the bathroom and got his tub.
Andy Roddick on Roger Federer
When I lost my decathlon world record I took it like a man. I only cried for ten hours.
Daley Thompson
I’ve seen George Foreman shadow boxing and the shadow won.
Muhammad Ali
Win, lose or draw, players and fans always have something to say about it. Packed to the rafters with the best quips and quotes from across the world of sport, this massive collection will keep you smiling in the stands even when you’re smarting from the scoreline.

Prepare for a sporting contest like no other!

Any true fan knows that the porcelain umpire’s chair is an ideal place to put your sporting knowledge to the test. This compendium of fun activities and quiz questions will have you spotting the difference at Wembley, finding a lost helmet at Lord’s, and going for gold in Olympic omniscience.

From bestselling author and professional brain-teaser Hugh Jassburn, this illustrated puzzle book includes a range of challenges relating to football, rugby, tennis, cricket, athletics, golf, boxing, basketball, rowing, snooker and more.

Pit your wits against such quiz questions as these:

– What is the lowest darts score you can’t achieve with a single dart?
– In 1981 Muhammad Ali retired from boxing – what was his career record?
– What is Tiger Woods’ real first name?
– Who was the first cricket player to score a century and take ten wickets in a test match?
– What sport has four letters, is played all around the world, and begins with a “t”?
A winning gift idea, this book will score a major-league success with sport obsessives and casual fans alike.

Laura was a self-certified couch potato who, until a few years ago, could only run for a couple of minutes at a time, and couldn’t swim. She has now completed several marathons and is a committed triathlete.
But Laura couldn’t have achieved what she has without the advice and support of her friend Katie. A life-long runner, fair-weather cyclist and born-again swimmer, Katie helped Laura through the ups and downs of training for a triathlon. As well as surmounting fears of failure and, more importantly, Laura’s fears of drowning in the swim start, their triathlon journey gave them the opportunity to push their limits and have fun along the way.
Tricurious tells Laura’s and Katie’s story with energy and humour. Filled with anecdotes and advice about the trials and tribulations of preparing for a triathlon, this inspiring book will answer your questions and leave you curious to experience the joy (and pain) of swim, bike, run.

THE TRIATHLON: A TRUE TEST OF ENDURANCE AND FITNESS

Capturing the discipline, the anguish, the fortitude and the joy that are all key elements of training for and competing in a triathlon, these stunning photographs showcase one of the world’s fastest growing sports. Includes inspirational and motivational quotes to encourage all triathletes.

DO YOU WANT TO…
Find out how regular running can prevent and reduce the risk of many illnesses? Start running but want advice on how to start slowly and gradually, and discover the right pace for you? Know how to use running for weight loss and how to build mileage? Improve your running technique to help reduce the risk of injury? With tips and tricks, training plans, dietary advice and inspirational case studies, Run Yourself Fit will help you break down those mental barriers, build your confi dence and reap the benefits of a healthier, happier and longer life!

The complete autobiography of the great adventurer Sir Francis Chichester, the first and fastest man to singlehandedly circumnavigate the globe.

Aged 18 and with a taste for adventure, Francis Chichester emigrated to New Zealand with ten pounds in his pocket. He tried his hand at a number of ill-fated careers -a boxer, shepherd, lumberjack, and gold prospector, to name a few before returning to England. Having qualified as a pilot, in 1929 he embarked on his most famous solo flight in the de Havilland Gipsy Moth from England to Australia. Shortly afterward, he survived a near-death catastrophe in an attempt to fly solo around the world. Turning to sailing, he won the first single-handed transatlantic yacht race in Gipsy Moth III, despite having been diagnosed with cancer two years previously. In 1967, he became the first person to sail around the world solo from west to east via the great capes. Here, his entire life – including his greatest failures and successes – are told by the man who experienced it all first hand. A foreword from his son, Giles Chichester, is also included.

The Tour de France is one of the most prestigious and physically challenging sporting events in the world and is the jewel in professional cycling’s crown.

This pocket-sized miscellany is packed with the Tour’s most memorable moments, with curious facts, amazing anecdotes and intriguing statistics from over a century of unforgettable racing.

You might run for fitness. You might run for speed. But ultimately, running is about much more than the physical act itself. It is about the challenges we face in life, and how we measure up to them. It is about companionship, endurance, ambition, hope, conviction, determination, self-respect and inspiration. It is about how we choose to live our lives, and what it means to share our values with other people.

In this year-long memoir, which might be described as a historian’s take on Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, the celebrated historian Ian Mortimer considers the meaning of running as he approaches his fiftieth birthday. From injuries and frustrated ambitions to exhilaration and empathy, it is a personal and yet universal account of what running means to people, and how it helps everyone focus on what really matters.

In my late thirties, it gradually dawned on me that I had become Jason’s regular hooker. It was an arrangement that worked well for a couple of reasons. He didn’t need me to dress up in anything particularly risqué or to do anything too vulgar, other than cuddle in the middle of a field with him and fourteen other men on a Saturday afternoon.
Steven Gauge’s response to an impending midlife crisis didn’t involve piercings, tattoos or a red sports car – instead, he decided to take up rugby. What he found on the pitch was a wonderful game, far removed from the professional televised glamour of international rugby, where ordinary blokes with ordinary jobs (and some extraordinary bellies) get together once in a while and have a great time rolling around in the mud.
By the end of his first few seasons, Steven had cracked his nose and various other parts of his anatomy – but he had cracked the game too, and found a place in the club as Captain of the Fourths.

I looked at the huge line of fighters still to come. It coiled around three sides of the mat like some great white dragon waiting to devour me, and suddenly the task ahead seemed impossible. The Thirty Man Kumite is one of karate’s toughest tests, reserved for senior black belts with years of experience. One person fights a line-up of thirty fighters, one after another, full contact, moving up the grades and facing the strongest, most dangerous fighters last. This is a compelling account of the Thirty Man Kumite and the lifetime of martial arts that led to it, charting the development of mind, body and spirit over many years and offering a rare insight into the true purpose of the martial arts.

Packed with over 500 photos and clear, step-by-step instructions, Practical Taekwondo: Back to the Roots offers a wealth of interpretations of ITF and WTF taekwondo patterns. Using the techniques that the author has discovered and tested, it shows readers how they can find their own applications.

ITF and WTF practitioners alike will find this book to be invaluable. No matter what level you are in your study of taekwondo, this book will help you look at patterns in a completely different way. Whether you are a white belt or a black belt, this book is packed with information that will make your training practical and relevant to the social challenges of the twenty-first century.

‘The secrets of karate are contained in the kata,’ said the masters of old. What did they mean? For many years, people have struggled to understand where padwork, grappling, ground-fighting and even high kicks fit into traditional karate.



While many people understand the purpose of individual kata, this book demonstrates how the various kata work together to create a logical fight progression from stand-up striking to close-quarter grappling and groundfighting. Four Shades of Black decodes the kata in a radically different way, revealing how the traditional arts set out to develop a complete and rounded fighter. If you think you know karate, think again.

Marathons make you miserable, but they also give you the most unlikely and the most indescribable pleasures. It’s a world that I love – a world unlocked when you dress up in lycra, put plasters on your nipples and run 26.2 miles in the company of upwards of 30,000 complete strangers. Phil Hewitt, who has completed over 25 marathons in conditions ranging from blistering heat to snow and ice, distils his personal experiences into a light-hearted account of his adventures along the way from Berlin to New York, and explores our growing fascination with marathon running. This story of an ordinary guy’s addiction to running marathons – an addiction hundreds of thousands share – looks at the highs and lows, the motivation that keeps you going when your body is crying out to stop, and tries to answer the ultimate question, ‘Why do you do it?’

This pocket-sized miscellany, packed with fascinating facts, handy hints and captivating stories and quotes from the world of running, is perfect for anyone who knows the incomparable joy and freedom of lacing up your trainers and hitting the road.

All bikes are beautiful, but some are downright sexy.



Bike Porn brings together some of the most seductive and tantalizing bikes ever to be photographed , from the slickest single-speeds to the most teched-out racing machines and beyond, captured in all their finely crafted glory.

What does the term ‘sledging’ refer to? How many First-Class records were set by W. G. Grace? How old the youngest ever cricketer to play a Test match was? Cricket fans don’t just like cricket, they love it! Whether you’re a soldier in the Barmy Army or you enjoy an afternoon of sunshine and wickets, there’s a reason why the world’s first modern spectator sport is beloved of so many.  Bringing together history, trivia, amusing anecdotes and fresh insights, this handy volume is an all-rounder guide to the gentleman’s game.

 

This pocket-sized miscellany, packed with fascinating facts, handy hints and captivating stories and quotes from the world of golf, is perfect for anyone who knows the incomparable joy of hitting the fairway.

‘It seemed a terrible shame to meet my end in Iowa; I couldn’t imagine anywhere more disappointing to die. If I were a betting man I’d have reckoned on the most dangerous thing in this state being sheer boredom. The scenery hadn’t changed for weeks and I was slowly dissolving into stimulation-deprived madness. My current predicament, then – attempting to escape through cornfields from a gun-toting alcohol-soaked rancher – was not something I expected.’
Just months after graduating from university, Leon received disastrous news: he had been offered a job. Terrified at the prospect of a life spent behind a desk, without challenge or adventure, he took off to cross America on an overloaded bicycle packed with everything but common sense. Over five months and 6,000 miles, Leon cycled from New York to Seattle and then on to the Mexican border, facing tornadoes, swollen river crossings and one hungry black bear along the way. But he also met kind strangers who offered their food, wisdom, hospitality and even the occasional local history lesson, and learned what happens when you take a chance and follow the scent of adventure.

Show your dad how much he means to you with these fantastic vouchers. Packed with promises, from making his favourite meal to learning a new sport together, this gift will make your dad feel like a king.

Patient: Doctor, I think I’m a cricket ball!

Doctor: Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon.

Crammed full of hilarious cricketing jokes from players and pundits alike, Cricket’s Funniest Jokes will bowl over any fan of the gentleman’s game – guaranteed to raise a laugh when you’re stumped or when rain stops play.

 
Bowl yourself over with this mini-collection of cricket humour – the very best quips and quotes for lovers of the gentleman’s game.