6,470 record(s) found
Being the fastest cyclist in the world at the start line means nothing if your mind isn't strong enough to get you to the finish line In 2018, Leigh Timmis became the fastest person to cycle across Europe - in just 16 days, 10 hours and 45 minutes - breaking the previous world record by an astonishing 8 days and 17 hours. But when he set out to break the record, Leigh wasn't just trying to conquer the road. As he prepared his body for this ultra-endurance world record attempt, Leigh realized that he would have to confront deeper problems to make it to the finish line. Although test results showed that he already had the physical ability of an elite athlete, something was holding him back: his troubled mind. With the support of psychologists and sports science experts, Leigh confronted the past that had left him with vulnerabilities he would need to understand and overcome in the pursuit of performance. Then, cycling for 14 hours a day, from the west coast of Portugal to the edge of Siberia, he embarked on far more than just a physical journey. The Race of Truth is the remarkable true story of personal transformation against the clock, and the astonishing feats we can accomplish when we face up to our deepest fears.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A powerful memoir from the University of Kentucky basketball legend, NBA veteran, and social media influencer about his recovery from addiction. He is considered by many the greatest basketball player ever produced by the hoops-crazy state of Kentucky. In two years at the University of Kentucky, he scored over 1,000 points, led the Wildcats to a Sweet Sixteen appearance and was nicknamed "King Rex." The first player ever drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, he spent twelve seasons in the NBA, dazzling in dunk contests and sinking one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in league history. But by the end of his career, Rex Chapman was harboring a destructive secret. Years before America's opioid crisis would become national news, Chapman developed a dependency on Vicodin and Oxycontin, ultimately ingesting fifty painkillers a day. In addition, he developed a severe gambling addiction, once nearly losing $400,000 at a Las Vegas blackjack table. All this would cost him his family as well as most of the $40 million fortune he'd made in basketball, leaving him to live in his car and shoplift to support his addictions. Only when he was arrested—and his mugshot made national news—did he finally commit to getting clean. In It's Hard for Me to Live With Me , Chapman—who has amassed millions of social media followers for his relatable and uplifting posts—tells the story of his addiction and recovery in unflinching detail. With equal frankness, he describes his history with depression; the racism he witnessed growing up and how that shaped his outspokenness on matters of social justice; and his complex and volatile relationship with his father, also a former professional basketball player. Cowritten with New York Times bestselling author Seth Davis, Chapman's memoir is an equally devastating and inspiring story about the human struggle for self-acceptance.
Dan "Hendo" Henderson was the first fighter in MMA history to become a double champion, winning championships in PRIDE Fighting Championships and Strikeforce. He faced the biggest names in MMA, on his unparalleled run through the early days of MMA through its remarkable rise in popularity, squaring off against the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, and Renzo Gracie. Henderson's first fight against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in 2011 is considered one of the greatest fights in UFC history. In this no-holds-barred look back on his life, Henderson provides context and insight into the biggest fights of his career, while reflecting on the wholly unique upbringing that shaped him into the warrior he needed to be to win. With his trademark humor, he sheds light on his two trips to the Olympics, his transformative time training in Europe and Russia, and his up-and-down relationship with Dana White. Hendo: The American Athlete is a thrilling window into the life and mind of a true legend. There will never be another fighter like Hendo.
This program is read by the author. "Through honest stories and inspiring lessons from her life, A'ja Wilson reminds us to never doubt who we are or apologize for being true to ourselves. Dear Black Girls is a must-read for every Black girl out there." ―Gabrielle Union, New York Times bestselling author of We're Going to Need More Wine and You Got Anything Stronger? This one is for all the girls with an apostrophe in their names. This is for all the girls who are labeled "too loud" and "too emotional." This is for all the girls who are constantly asked, "Oh, what did you do with your hair? That's new." This is for my Black girls. Despite gold medals, WNBA championships, and a list of accolades, A'ja Wilson knows how it feels to be swept under the rug—to not be heard, to not feel seen, to not be taken seriously. As a fourth grader going to a primarily white school in South Carolina, A'ja was told she'd have to stay outside for a classmate's birthday party. "Huh?" she asked. Because the birthday girl's father didn't like Black people. Wilson tells stories like this, about how even when life tried to hold her down, it didn't stop her. She shares her contribution to "The Talk," and how to keep fighting, all while igniting strength, passion, and joy. Dear Black Girls is a necessary and meaningful exploration of what it means to be a Black woman in America today—and a rallying cry to lift up women and girls everywhere. " Dear Black Girls is filled with phenomenal stories and empowering insight on what it means to be a woman in today's world. I didn't want to put it down." ―Tunde Oyeneyin, New York Times bestselling author of Speak A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
The legendary six-time CrossFit Games champion and Olympic athlete shares lessons from her inspiring story of leveling up her performance, embracing failure, and fiercely taking on impossible goals. “Champions are built in the mind first, and Tia Toomey understands exactly how to do that.”—Andy Frisella, entrepreneur, creator of 75 Hard and Real AF podcast Tia Toomey, the world’s fittest woman, has won the CrossFit Games an incredible six years in a row and is undeniably a true warrior. She has also trained for the Winter Olympics in bobsledding, competed in the Summer Olympics in weightlifting, and was a Commonwealth Games gold medalist. She is, in short, one of the most accomplished and dominant athletes in human history. But for Tia physical fitness is only a small part of overall strength. More important is building mental toughness. In The Heart Is the Strongest Muscle, Tia shows how she reached elite levels by focusing on her “why.” By always having a clear picture of her purpose—what drives her heart—she can push through even the toughest challenges. From the early days of her fitness journey to the peak performance that has put her atop the podium in the CrossFit Games, Tia also reveals the secrets, struggles, and successes that have made her a killer competitor. Nothing comes easy, but in The Heart Is the Strongest Muscle, Tia hopes to show you how to build your own unstoppable mindset. Whether you are already a serious athlete or someone looking to conquer a new challenge, you’ll be able to use her methods to keep winning.
"Eric Blehm offers an insightful perspective on how Craig Kelly became the effortless icon that we all revered as well as sobering details of how his heroic journey tragically ended. The Darkest White is a must read, not just for fans of snowboarding, but for anyone looking for inspiration from an unlikely hero."—Tony Hawk From Eric Blehm, the bestselling author of The Last Season and Fearless, comes an extraordinary new book in the vein of Into the Wild, the story of the legendary snowboarder Craig Kelly and his death in the 2003 Durrand Glacier Avalanche—a devastating and controversial tragedy that claimed the lives of seven people. On January 20, 2003, a thunderous crack rang out and a 100-foot-wide tide of snow barreled down the Northern Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. More than a dozen skiers and snowboarders were thrust down the mountain, buried beneath several tons of rock-hard snow and ice in the Durrand Glacier Avalanche. A heroic search and rescue ensued. Among those buried was Craig Kelly—"the Michael Jordan of snowboarding"—a man who had propelled the sport into the mainstream before walking away from competitions, to rekindle his passion in the untamed alpine wilds of North America The Darkest White is the story of Craig Kelly's life, a heartbreaking but extraordinary and inspiring odyssey of a latchkey kid whose athletic prowess and innovations would revolutionize winter sports, take him around the globe, and push him into ever more extreme environments that would ultimately take his life. It is also a definitive, immersive account of snowboarding and the cultural movement that exploded around it, growing the sport from minor Gen X cult hobby to Olympic centerpiece and a billion-dollar business full of feuds and rivalries. Finally, The Darkest White is a mesmerizing, cautionary portrait of the mountains, of the allure and the glory they offer, and of the avalanches they unleash with unforgiving fury. "Eric Blehm took on this biography as I imagine Craig Kelly took on the halfpipe. He studied it, chose his line, and pulled everything off—even tough parts—with grace and style. It's not just a terrific story of an amazing life, not just the origin story of an entire sport, but a riveting disaster narrative that builds tension masterfully. The Darkest White grabbed me and didn't let go."—Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Terminal List series.
This is a book about ten women over the past three hundred years who have found walking essential to their sense of themselves, as people and as writers. Wanderers traces their footsteps, from eighteenth-century parson's daughter Elizabeth Carter-who desired nothing more than to be taken for a vagabond in the wilds of southern England-to modern walker-writers such as Nan Shepherd and Cheryl Strayed. For each, walking was integral, whether it was rambling for miles across the Highlands, like Sarah Stoddart Hazlitt, or pacing novels into being, as Virginia Woolf did around Bloomsbury. Offering a beguiling view of the history of walking, Wanderers guides us through the different ways of seeing-of being-articulated by these ten pathfinding women.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “piercing account” ( The Wall Street Journal ) of surviving as a young woman in a society that rewards appearances more than anything and demands perfection at all costs—especially if you’re an Olympic figure skater. “A riveting memoir, which details her experience with an eating disorder, depression and her high-stakes career.”— People (Best Books to Read in February 2024) When Gracie Gold stepped onto center stage (or ice, rather) as America’s sweetheart at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, she instantly became the face of America’s most beloved winter sport. Beautiful, blonde, Midwestern, and media-trained, she was suddenly being written up everywhere from The New Yorker to Teen Vogue to People and baking cookies with Taylor Swift. But little did the public know what Gold was facing when the cameras were off, driven by the self-destructive voice inside that she calls “outofshapeworthlessloser.” In 2017, she entered treatment for what was publicly announced as an eating disorder and anxiety treatment but was, in reality, suicidal ideation. While Gold’s public star was rising, her private life was falling apart: Cracks within her family were widening, her bulimia was getting worse, and she became a survivor of sexual assault. The pressure of training for years with demanding coaches and growing up in a household that accepted nothing less than gold had finally taken its toll. Now Gold reveals the exclusive and harrowing story of her struggles in and out of the pressure-packed world of elite figure skating: the battles with her family, her coaches, the powers-that-be at her federation, and her deteriorating mental health. Outofshapeworthlessloser is not only a forceful reckoning from a world-class athlete but also an intimate memoir, told with unflinching honesty and stirring defiance.
'This book captures the magic of being in flow . . . Highly recommend' RONNIE O'SULLIVAN 'Entertaining and enlightening' MATTHEW SYED ' Simon has looked into something we actually all know or at least once did - the ability to live life more in the now' JASON FOX Simon Mundie, host of The Life Lessons podcast , draws on interviews with some of the world's sporting legends to redefine how we understand – and pursue - success through 8 key lessons. As the sports reporter for BBC Radio 1 for the best part of a decade, Simon Mundie was pitch-side at many of the most high-profile sporting events in history. It was often thrilling, but the emphasis always seemed to be on results, tactics and the score. But as the saying goes, sport is a metaphor for life – so Simon set out to explore that. Drawing on interviews with sporting legends from Jonny Wilkinson to Kate Richardson-Walsh, Caitlyn Jenner to Goldie Sayers , along with psychologists, philosophers and world-renowned thinkers, Simon shares some of the tools and techniques that sportspeople have embraced to grow and evolve. From developing emotional intelligence to the power of true acceptance and the joy of getting in flow , he explores eight universal themes that are highlighted in sport, but that are all too easily overlooked. What can the careers of Gaël Monfils and Andy Murray teach us about exploring our potential? What can England's Olympic gold-medal winning hockey team teach us about the power of being truly selfless? Wise and inspiring, Champion Thinking illustrates that the contentment we are all looking for isn't somewhere 'out there' – it's actually so close that we tend to overlook it. 'The intention behind this book is beautiful, and I highly recommend it' RUPERT SPIRA 'Mundie understands something most of us discover eventually: that the pursuit of sporting excellence is the best guide we have to what it means to be human' AMOL RAJAN.
John Gierach is a highly trusted and trustable opinion-maker in fly-fishing. People take what he says to the bank. While most of Gierach's writing is essay-style and reflective, here he gets down to the nitty-gritty: how he ties his favorite flies and why he thinks they work so well for him. There is, thus, an instant reader connection: "Gierach's patterns are good enough for me." Few anglers will skip knowing what a master angler and thinker prefers for his fly box. This title covers a gamut of patterns essential to trout fishing in a variety of circumstances: dry flies, wet flies and nymphs, and streamers. Gierach's legion of fans of his regular magazine column will be highly inclined to buy this title.
Born of tumult in 1909, the Giro d'Italia helped unite a nation. Since then, it has reflected it's home country—the Giro's capricious and unpredictable nature matches the passions and extremes of Italy itself. A desperately hard race through a beautiful country, the Giro has bred characters and stories that dramatize the shifting culture and society of its home. There was Alfonsina Strada, who cropped her hair and raced against the men in 1924 and Ottavio Bottecchia, expected to challenge for the winner's Maglia Rosa, the famed pink jersey, in 1928, until he was killed on a training ride—most likely by Mussolini's Black Shirts. And what would a book about the Giro d'Italia be without Fausto Coppi, the metropolitan playboy with amphetamines in his veins, guided by a mystic blind masseur, who seemed to glide up the peaks. But let us not forget his arch rival Gino Bartali—humble, pious, and brave. It recently emerged that he smuggled papers for persecuted Jewish Italians. Then there is the Giro's most tragic hero, Marco Pantani, born to climb but fated to lose. Halted only by World Wars, the Giro has been contested for over a century, and The Beautiful Race is a richly written celebration of this legendary race.
What separates Winners from everyone else? In September 2015, Shane Watson, one of cricket's greatest allrounders, was contemplating retirement. At 34, he was still in great physical shape, but his form had deteriorated following a tragedy the year before. Mentally, he was in the darkest hole of his life. A chance meeting with IndyCar champion Will Power changed everything, prompting Shane to work with world-renowned mental performance coach Dr Jacques Dallaire. It was a decision that would reshape his life. Watson discovered the keys to a consistent mental process that gave him access to his skillset once more. Across his career he'd had many glimpses of the right mindset but had so often sabotaged himself as he lacked the understanding, tools, and blueprint to repeat them. Watson would go on to dominate global T20 cricket, testing his new mental process against the best players in the world. In The Winner's Mindset, Watson shares the secrets that helped him tap into his skillset at will. Using his own in-game experiences, scientific methodology and an easy-to-understand mental skills framework, he makes you performance ready for every situation, eliminating stress and anxiety. Whether you're a cricketer or simply seeking success in life, you'll learn universal techniques that apply to any performance arena.
From the creators of the New York Times bestselling series Campfire Stories: Close Calls comes a new original audiobook that brings to life the bold, hair-raising, and often tragic adventures of a generation of eighteenth-century frontiersmen: the Long Hunters. Steven Rinella ( The MeatEater Podcast ) and Clay Newcomb (MeatEater's Bear Grease podcast) gather listeners for a new round of stories, this time drawing from the lives of the rugged Long Hunters, who include such figures as Daniel Boone, Henry Skaggs, and Kasper Mansker. These were the commercial hunters and trappers who explored and exploited the First Far West, the land across the Appalachian Mountains, in the era between the Seven Years War and the American Revolution—one of the most fabled periods of American history. The feats of these courageous, resilient backwoodsmen forever shaped a national identity centered around individualism, capitalism, freedom, and the need for wild places and wild animals.
This program is read by the author. On the last night of the 2021 CrossFit Games, ten thousand fans watched in horror as Brooke Wells' elbow dislocated under the weight of a 190-pound barbell. This is the extraordinary story of what happened next: How Wells pulled off a highly improbable comeback that transformed her mentally and physically into one of the fittest women in the world. In Resilient , Wells provides a refreshingly honest, authentic account of how she overcame fear, self-doubt, and a slew of unexpected obstacles to return to the CrossFit Games less than a year after undergoing total elbow reconstruction. A story of strength, passion, courage, and grit, Resilient is a celebration of one athlete's extraordinary spirit and her inspiring ability to never say die. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.
This covers the great, near-great, and never-were in a wide range of athletic endeavors. Naturally, all major sports are included: Football, Baseball, Basketball, with many notes about Golf, Boxing, Horse racing, Auto racing, Tennis, Track, Bowling, Hockey, renowned broadcasters, and an overall mixture of such sports as Wrestling, Pool, Marbles, Archery, Cricket, even Horseshoe pitching. It's all here! Written and narrated with exceptional knowledge and humor.
For readers of Atomic Habits and Grit , a top performance psychologist, who has coached elite athletes, surgeons, and business leaders, shares her proven plan to getting the best results when the pressure is on. What do a major league baseball catcher struggling with pop ups, an operating room doctor tense before a surgery, and a slumping sixteen-year-old tennis prodigy all have in common? They're elite performers who are not achieving excellence, and they're not sure how to improve. Enter Dr. Dana Sinclair. For more than twenty years, Dr. Dana has worked with the best of the best to improve results, from NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL teams to IndyCar drivers and Olympic athletes. She helps performers shift their focus and deliver optimal performance in high-pressure moments that define greatness. Her methods also work for students and teachers, business leaders and managers—anyone motivated to improve. Her approach is simple: figure out what gets in your way, develop actions to address it in the moment, and then stick to the plan. It's not about how you feel, it's about what you do! Now, for the first time, her method to improve performance is available to everyone. In Part One of Dialed In , Dr. Dana shares her key concepts: -the true nature of confidence (it's overrated) -the difference between good routines and unhelpful superstitions -good communicating vs. common bad advice -why character is better than talent, and much more In Part Two, she takes us through her three-step process for making your own performance plans, with five helpful examples to illustrate how it's done. There are also leading questions and quick tips to help you better develop your personalized performance plan for whatever challenges you face. Simple, smart, and effective, Dialed In is like having your own performance coach in your back pocket.
Once an angler masters a graphite rod, his interests often move on to the original fly rod, pliant bamboo. Until the mid-twentieth century, nearly all fly rods were bamboo. By the 1970s, fiberglass and graphite changed the world of fly-fishing. But more and more anglers are seeing bamboo rods in retail outlets, and want to give them a try. With this book, John Gierach, one of the nation's top fly-fishing writers, provides a philosophical guide to the angler who seeks this new "old" method. Gierach discusses how bamboo rods are built, how they differ from graphite rods, and how using one will change a fly fisher's approach to the sport. Fishing bamboo might be the pinnacle of fly-casting skill, and this book will help take you there.
Belfast's Carl 'The Jackal' Frampton MBE is no ordinary boxer. One of only three fighters from the British Isles to be named the Ring magazine Fighter of the Year, he has headlined sellout world championship bouts on both sides of the Atlantic, winning multiple world titles in the process. His dedicated army of fans have traversed the globe to be ringside throughout it all. But Frampton's popularity far exceeds the traditional adulation for a sporting icon; he is regarded as a symbol of hope and unity by both sides of the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland. In this captivating autobiography, Frampton reveals the most personal aspects of being a fighter: the fears and doubts, the exhilaration and devastation, the friendships and animosities. He also recounts for the first time his high-profile, acrimonious split with Barry McGuigan in devastating and revealing detail. Frampton speaks openly and passionately, not only about boxing, but about his country, how far it has come and the problems it faces. This is a uniquely intimate account of a true modern-day sporting great and a local hero like no other.
Wall Street Journal reporters and authors of The Club, Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg tell the riveting saga of how Formula 1 broke through in America, detailing the eclectic culture of racing obsessives, glamorous settings, gearheads, engineering geniuses, dashing racers, and bitter rivalries that have made F1 the world's fastest growing sport. For decades in America, car racing meant NASCAR, and to a lesser extent IndyCar, with Formula 1—the wealthiest racing league in the world—a distant third. Fast forward to 2023, and F1 has emerged at the front of the pack powered by a passionate yet nascent American fanbase. The F1 juggernaut has arrived, but this checkered flag was far from inevitable. In The Formula, Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg tell the epic story of how F1 saved itself from collapse and finally conquered America through guile, fearlessness, and above all, reinvention. With fast cars, big money, glamorous locales, and beautiful people as the backdrop, The Formula reveals how F1's sudden arrival in the US was actually decades in the making, a product of the sport's near-constant state of transformation and experimentation. Bringing unique insight and access to F1's most storied teams and personalities—from Ferrari to Bernie Ecclestone to Christian Horner to Lewis Hamilton—The Formula offers a riveting portrait of the drivers, corporations, cars, rivalries, and audacious gambles that have shaped the sport for half a century. The end result is a high-octane history of how modern F1 racing came to be—the first book to tell the story of the outrageous successes and spectacular crashes that led F1 to this extraordinary yet precarious moment. More than just a sports story, The Formula is the tale of a disrupter that broke into the crowded American sports marketplace and claimed its place through cash, personality, and a new understanding of what a sport needs to be in the age of wall-to-wall entertainment.
Welcome to the G League-the official minor league of the National Basketball Association. Life in the G is about the arduous quest to achieve an improbable goal: making it to the NBA. Life in the G League is far from glamorous. Players make enormous sacrifices and work unimaginable hours in the hope that someone in the NBA will give them a chance. To this day, very few fans-even the most passionate followers of the NBA-know much about the G League. In the fall of 2021, the Birmingham Squadron granted author Alex Squadron complete access to the team to capture the experience of playing in the league. That year, with hundreds of NBA players sidelined by the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19, the G League saw a record number of call-ups. Sports Illustrated labeled it "the year of the NBA replacement player." Many of those players stayed in the NBA, earning life-changing contracts and taking on significant roles for their new teams. In addition to recounting the organization's inaugural season, Squadron's access to the Birmingham Squadron enabled him to document the incredible journeys of G League players and to tell the larger story of life in the G. This is the inspiring tale of an unforgettable season and the emotional roller coaster for everyone involved in the chase for an NBA dream.