Za-to-pek! Za-to-pek! Za-to-pek!: The Life and Times of the World's Greatest Distance Runner

"Zatopek! Zatopek! Zatopek!" The joyous rhythmic cry rang out from tens of thousands of spectators of every nationality in stadiums throughout Europe during the late 1940s and 1950s. Emil Zatopek was a Czech Army officer - from behind the impenatrable Iron Curtain, yet his wondrous running ability, his cheery personality and his abundantly generous nature swept away all political and geographical barriers as readily as he swept aside the opposition he faced on the track. Zatopek became a household name when he won the Olympic 10,000 metres at Wembley in 1948. Within a week at the 1952 Games in Helsinki he won the 5000 and 10,000 metres and then the marathon in his first attempt at the distance - a feat that cannot imaginably ever be equalled - and his wife, Dana, won the javelin. He broke a multitude of World records, and his Herculean training methods, sometimes running 400 metres 80 times in succession, inspired an entire generation. His commitment and achievements completely changed the face of athletics, and even when he was stripped of his military and civic honours after speaking out against the repressive Czech regime he remained forever a sporting legend in his lifetime. When Herbert Schade, a German rival, asked his advice before an Olympic final Zatopek told him how he could win the race. When Ron Clarke, himself a prolific record-breaker but never a champion, left Prague after a visit he found Zatopek had slipped one of his own gold medals into his baggage. When Zatopek died at the age of 78 a host of Olympic heroes travelled from round the globe to honour him at his burial. "Zatopek! Zatopek! Zatopek!" is the story of the World's greatest distance runner, written by broadcaster and journalist Bob Phillips, one of whose treasured posessions is an autograph given to him by Zatopek. In text and photographs this book makes for a fitting memorial to an unforgettable athlete and contains a host of personal recollections by fellow-competitors, journalists and fans - and, for the first time, a complete record of all his races based on authoritative Czech sources.

About the Author :
The author is the editor of "Track Stats", the quarterly publication of the National Union of Track Statisticians which covers all historical and statistical aspects of the sport. His book, "Honour Of Empire, Glory Of Sport", published in the year 2000 and relating the history of athletics at the Commonwealth Games, was selected by "The Times" as one of its Sports Books of the Year. He has been a member of the BBC Radio commentary team for 17 years and has attended all the major Championships during that time. He began his modest competitive career as a sprinter and finished it 36 years later as a marathon runner and then took up time-trial cycle racing.