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I Just Ran: Percy Williams, World's Fastest Human
Paperback

I Just Ran: Percy Williams, World’s Fastest Human

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At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics an unknown Vancouver runner named Percy Williams shocked the sports world by capturing the 100- and 200-metre gold medals. Some said the feat was a fluke. It was not. In 1929 Percy silenced naysayers by sweeping the US indoor track circuit, then he went on to set a world record in the 100 meters that would stand until the arrival of Jesse Owens. And in between he waged a speed duel with the fleetest men on the planet, a battle for track supremacy and the title World’s Fastest Human . Based on extensive research that included access to Percy’s private letters, diary and scrapbooks, this is the first full-length account of this sports legend, one of the most famous Canadians of his day but now largely forgotten. It begins as the Cinderella story of a youth who conquers a sport dominated by American sprinters. Then it gets grittier, for success and fame had a dark side. I Just Ran follows Percy and his janitor-coach Bob Granger as they journey through the world of elite running in the 1920s and 30s – a world that was not always pretty beneath the veneer of amateurism.

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MORE INFO
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Ronsdale Press
Country
Canada
Date
1 September 2011
Pages
331
ISBN
9781553801269

At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics an unknown Vancouver runner named Percy Williams shocked the sports world by capturing the 100- and 200-metre gold medals. Some said the feat was a fluke. It was not. In 1929 Percy silenced naysayers by sweeping the US indoor track circuit, then he went on to set a world record in the 100 meters that would stand until the arrival of Jesse Owens. And in between he waged a speed duel with the fleetest men on the planet, a battle for track supremacy and the title World’s Fastest Human . Based on extensive research that included access to Percy’s private letters, diary and scrapbooks, this is the first full-length account of this sports legend, one of the most famous Canadians of his day but now largely forgotten. It begins as the Cinderella story of a youth who conquers a sport dominated by American sprinters. Then it gets grittier, for success and fame had a dark side. I Just Ran follows Percy and his janitor-coach Bob Granger as they journey through the world of elite running in the 1920s and 30s – a world that was not always pretty beneath the veneer of amateurism.

Format
Paperback
Publisher
Ronsdale Press
Country
Canada
Date
1 September 2011
Pages
331
ISBN
9781553801269