Olympic Books

Have you been watching the Olympics?  I have to admit, I was more than a little disenchanted with the whole thing prior to the opening ceremonies.  I think they've become too big, too expensive, and usually impact the environment of the host country in far too many ways.  On top of that, the doping scene also causes me to wonder just how much of it is authentically a triumph of the human body and spirit.

That being said, once the opening ceremonies take place and the media stories suddenly focus on the athletes, I do tend to flip the channel to the games at least once a day just to see how "we're" doing.

I'm not a sporty person myself so I rarely read books about sports or athletes.  The one exception I can recall is My Sergei, by ice skater Ekaterina Gordeeva.

My Sergei: A Love Story

When I was young I idolized Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov.  They were magical on the ice.  To me, they were a modern day fairy tale.  They had skated together since they were children, they were beautiful, they never fell, always gliding to a win in everything they did.  To this day I can visualize their routines in my head.

And then one day, like all fairy tales, tragedy struck.  Sergei succumbed to a heart condition and the skating world went into shock.  We would never again see the perfection of Grinkov and Gordeeva on the ice.

But Ekaterina did find a way to move on.  She's a champion, that's just what she does.  Her book about their life together is wonderful.  And really, it's more about their relationship than sports, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much.

Today Ekaterina has a new family, with her daughter from Sergei, her new husband Ilia Kulik (a fellow skater), and their little girl.  They run a skating training facility in California, and are training new Olympians.

Even the sportscasters are so mesmerized in this clip, they hardly speak!

Do you  have a favourite sports book?  A favourite athlete who you wish would write a book?  Or even a favourite book that takes place at the games?  Leave a comment below~

If you're looking for more books about the sports or the Olympics check out the list of lists from Goodreads HERE.