Gold in the Water: The True Story of Ordinary Men and Their Extraordinary Dream of Olympic Glory - Hardcover

Mullen Jr., P. H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312265956 ISBN 13: 9780312265953

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2001

Synopsis

"'Oh my God, is this really happening?!'

It was halfway through the 200-meter breaststroke finals at the 1998 World Championships and the rookie was gliding four feet beneath the water's wind-rumpled surface. Above him, 15,000 spectators were screaming encouragement and millions more were watching on live international television. All of them could see what the rookie and the seven other finalists could not: the actual race as it unfolded.

Underwater, the swimmer stole a peek down the length of the pool. That quick glance may have very well changed the course of a career, for from then on, nothing would ever be the same for this athlete. A bucket of adrenaline dumped into his gut and flooded his arms and legs. He wanted to laugh and shout in joyful surprise. Is there any greater joy than feeling unbridled power course through the body at the exact instant it is most needed?
The swimmer burst to the surface and began his first stroke with a ferocious arm sweep..."

So begins Gold in the Water, the highly acclaimed and mesmerizing tale about the remarkable two-year journey an elite team of swimmers takes to the 2000 Olympic Games.
Decades ago, northern California's aged Santa Clara Swim Club, the birthplace of modern swimming, was home to nearly every U.S. Olympic swimmer. Now, after years of irrelevance, a distinctly American renewal is taking place there. In the water, race a young protégé and an older mentor, two best friends who have emerged as the world's two best breast strokers. As they wrestle with their increasingly complex rivalry, around them swim some of the world's most talented athletes. There is a long-retired starlet who has returned to her sport for unexplained reasons and is engineering one of the most remarkable comebacks in sports history. There is an enigmatic butterflyer systematically removing emotion from his Olympic journey while engineering a plan to join his famous father in Olympus. With them is a troubled back stroker, a man with preternatural talent who despises his sport even as he is proclaimed a future Olympic hero. Overseeing their journey is one of the most explosive and passionate coaches in American sports. At turns both brilliant and unbearable, swimming's bete noire knows the 2000 Olympics represent a final chance to restore a tarnished reputation and banish long-buried demons.

The spellbinding narrative follows the sport's biggest stars as well as its unheralded darkhorses on their incredible march to the Olympics. Seamlessly weaving together escalating rivalries, unexpected setbacks, profound sorrows and incredible joys, the book captures like none before it the true passion and grit that the pursuing greatness requires. Meet the biggest stars of the 2000 Olympics, as well as the ordinary heroes chasing an elusive dream. Their shared story will permanently change how we see the Olympic athlete.

Boldly sweeping in its literary power and pace, Gold in the Water has been called "a cross between the New Yorker and Chariots of Fire." With exquisite precision, first-time author P.H. Mullen creates a fascinating world of suspense and emotion, where the human desire for excellence rules over all and where there are no second chances for glory. Above all, Gold in the Water is about the triumph of the human spirit.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"Mullen does an excellent job not only of conveying the daily torture that elite swimmers go through in the pool but also of giving insight into lesser-known aspects of swimming." ---The New York Times

In California, a team of talented young men begin pursuing the most elusive dream in sports, the Olympic Games. The pressure steadily increases as two best friends (a mentor and his protégé) reach the top of the world rankings and unexpectedly find themselves direct competitors. Their teammates include an emerging star methodically plotting to retrace his father's path to Olympic glory, as well as a super-extraordinary athlete desperate to walk away from it all. Led by one of the most passionate coaches in sports, a brilliant and explosive strategist on a personal quest for redemption, this team of dark horses and Olympic favorites works through escalating rivalries, joyous triumphs, and heartbreaking setbacks.

Author P. H. Mullen chronicles their journey to the 2000 Olympic Games and presents one of the most powerful and moving sports books ever written. Boldly sweeping in literary power and pace, this startling book willpermanently change how you view the Olympic athlete.

It is a fascinating world of suspense and emotion where human desire for excellence rules over all, and where there are no second chances for glory. But above all, Gold in the Water is a triumph of the human spirit.

"Gold in the Water is essentially the tale of a journey of self-awareness, self-belief and the important relationships between coaches and a band of elite swimmers."---The London Times

"Like the best sports books, this one spends a lot of time with the athletes, letting us see them not just as performers but as people.... A superb sports book."---Booklist (starred review)

"This is the book I wish I had written. Gold in the Water accurately and vividly describes the emotional turmoil that precedes an Olympic Games, and it made me care about the character of the participants, not just their swimming. I couldn't put it down!" ---John Naber, Olympic hero, author of Awaken the Olympian Within, and president of the U.S. Olympic Alumni

Named one of the "Best Sports Books of 2001" by The London Times

About the Author:

P.H. Mullen has written for numerous publications, including Sports Illustrated, Travel & Leisure, USA Today and the Washington Post. He also holds one of history's fastest times swimming the English Channel. Mr. Mullen graduated from Dartmouth College and lives in northern California with his wife and daughter. Gold in the Water is his first book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0312265956
• ISBN 13: 9780312265953
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 302