From Publishers Weekly
The most common triathlon format calls for a 1500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer bike leg and a 1 0-kilometer run. Because women as a rule have greater endurance than men, the best female triathletes are better than all but the top men. The author of this uneven book, himself a triathlete, follows four women through the 1989 season, ending with the Hawaiian Ironman, which demands almost superhuman abilities with its 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike leg and 26.2-mile run. Cook provides delightful anecdotes about the contestants: self-righteous, aggressively Christian Kirsten Hanssen; earthy Paula Newby-Fraser; Jan Ripple, half southern belle, half wrecking ball; and quietly determined Julie Wilson. His long passages on physiology and the construction of bicycles, however, will not interest general readers. Still, he paints a well-rounded portrait of the triathletes, who, he reports, now number 1.2 million worldwide, dispelling the popular image of them as a splinter group of not-quite-rational masochists. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Cook covers the lives of four women competing in the 1989 triathlon season, a sporting event that features 140 miles of swimming, cycling, and running. The season culminates in the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon, one of the most grueling events in sports. It features back-to-back competitions that include a 2.4-mile swim, a bike race of approximately 112 miles, and a 26.2-mile run. Cook chooses to write about four very different female competitors in the sport: Kirsten Hanssen, Jan Ripple, Paula Newby-Fraser, and Julie Wilson. He relates their personal stories as well as their athletic accomplishments. The reader obtains real insight into the various personalities and training methods that different competitors use. These stories also illuminate how little support and encouragement women receive, even at the top competitive level of athletics. The book is informative and fascinating and contains some stories of sheer human drama.
- Melinda Stivers Leach, Precision Editorial Svces., Wondervu, Col.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Melinda Stivers Leach, Precision Editorial Svces., Wondervu, Col.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
