Today We Die a Little!: The Inimitable Emil Z疸opek, the Greatest Olympic Runner of All Time (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781568585499)

"We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to enjoy something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." -- Emil Z瀾ek

For a decade after the Second World War, Emil Z瀾ek -- "the Czech locomotive" -- redefined the sport of distance running, pushing back the frontiers of what was considered possible. He won five Olympic medals, set eighteen world records, and went undefeated in the 10,000-metre race for six years. His dominance has never been equaled.

In the darkest days of the Cold War, he stood for a spirit of generous friendship that transcended nationality and politics. Z瀾ek was an energetic supporter of the Prague Spring in 1968, championing "socialism with a human face" in Czechoslovakia. But for this he paid a high price. After the uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks, the hardline Communists had their revenge. Z瀾ek was expelled from the army, stripped of his role in national sport, and condemned to years of hard and degrading manual labor.

Based on extensive research in the Czech Republic, interviews with people across the world who knew him, and unprecedented cooperation from his widow, fellow Olympian Dana Z瀾kov瀚ournalist Richard Askwith's book breathes new life into the man and the myth, uncovering a glorious age of athletics and an epoch-defining time in world history.

Author: Richard Askwith
ISBN-10: 1568585497
ISBN-13: 9781568585499
Publisher: Bold Type Books
Language: English
Published: 05/24/2016
Pages: 496
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.80w x 1.50d

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 05/01/2016 pg. 63
Library Journal 06/01/2016 pg. 98