Gold in the Water: The True Story of Ordinary Men and Their Extraordinary Dream of Olympic Glory

From Publishers Weekly
Olympic fans undoubtedly remember the wonderful performances of the U.S. swimmers at the 2000 Olympics in Australia. What viewers may not fully understand is the grueling training endured by a larger group of swimmers who trained for other meets leading up to the trials and Olympic competition. Mullen, a sports writer and competitive swimmer, focuses on the Santa Clara Swim Club, two athletes Tom Wilkens and Kurt Grote and their coach, Dick Jochums. The author provides an intimate look at the physical training along with the emotional and psychological roller-coaster ride for the swimmers as they try to make the Olympic team. As coach, Jochums also endures serious hardships, including bankruptcy of the swim club and accusations of financial misconduct. Mullen skillfully details exactly what the swimmers are feeling (e.g., "Now Wilkins was furious.... He was in the best shape of his life, he'd just swum in the world's fastest pool, and his time was more than 1.5 second slower than his best. He needed to find an outlet for his fury...." Sports fans and anyone who has trained for competition will find this book enjoyable. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
*Starred Review* When we watched the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, we saw athletes in their prime, ready to take on their biggest challenge. But how did they get there? What kind of training was required? What toll did this preparation take on the athletes' personal lives? What's at stake at the Olympics, and how will defeat affect the person who has dedicated nearly his or her whole life to the dream of Olympic gold? This book chronicles the U.S. swimming team's journey to the 2000 Olympics, and we soon discover that although the training started in January 1998, the dreaming began a whole lot earlier. Like the best sports books, this one spends a lot of time with the athletes, letting us see them not just as performers but also as people. What motivates someone to structure his whole life toward a single goal, a goal the athlete knows may never be achieved? And what comes after the Olympics? Mullen answers all these questions in the words and actions of the young athletes he portrays. Although the book concentrates on swimming and swimmers, its exploration of "big" themes--dedication, the pursuit of success, and the possibility of failure--makes it applicable to all athletes (indeed, to all young people) grappling with how to direct their lives. A superb sports book. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
In California, a team of talented young men begin pursuing the most elusive dream in sports, the Olympic Games. The pressure steadily increases as two best friends (a mentor and his protégé) reach the top of the world rankings and unexpectedly find themselves direct competitors. Their teammates include an emerging star methodically plotting to retrace his father’s path to Olympic glory, as well as a super-extraordinary athlete desperate to walk away from it all. Led by one of the most passionate coaches in sports, a brilliant and explosive strategist on a personal quest for redemption, this team of dark horses and Olympic favorites works through escalating rivalries, joyous triumphs, and heartbreaking setbacks.

Author P. H. Mullen chronicles their journey to the 2000 Olympic Games and presents one of the most powerful and moving sports books ever written. Boldly sweeping in literary power and pace, this startling book will permanently change how you view the Olympic athlete.
It is a fascinating world of suspense and emotion where human desire for excellence rules over all, and where there are no second chances for glory. But above all, Gold in the Water is a triumph of the human spirit.



From the Back Cover
“Mullen does an excellent job not only of conveying the daily torture that elite swimmers go through in the pool but also of giving insight into lesser-known aspects of swimming.” ---The New York Times

In California, a team of talented young men begin pursuing the most elusive dream in sports, the Olympic Games. The pressure steadily increases as two best friends (a mentor and his protégé) reach the top of the world rankings and unexpectedly find themselves direct competitors. Their teammates include an emerging star methodically plotting to retrace his father’s path to Olympic glory, as well as a super-extraordinary athlete desperate to walk away from it all. Led by one of the most passionate coaches in sports, a brilliant and explosive strategist on a personal quest for redemption, this team of dark horses and Olympic favorites works through escalating rivalries, joyous triumphs, and heartbreaking setbacks.

Author P. H. Mullen chronicles their journey to the 2000 Olympic Games and presents one of the most powerful and moving sports books ever written. Boldly sweeping in literary power and pace, this startling book willpermanently change how you view the Olympic athlete.

It is a fascinating world of suspense and emotion where human desire for excellence rules over all, and where there are no second chances for glory. But above all, Gold in the Water is a triumph of the human spirit.

“Gold in the Water is essentially the tale of a journey of self-awareness, self-belief and the important relationships between coaches and a band of elite swimmers.”---The London Times

“Like the best sports books, this one spends a lot of time with the athletes, letting us see them not just as performers but as people.... A superb sports book.”---Booklist (starred review)

“This is the book I wish I had written. Gold in the Water accurately and vividly describes the emotional turmoil that precedes an Olympic Games, and it made me care about the character of the participants, not just their swimming. I couldn’t put it down!” ---John Naber, Olympic hero, author of Awaken the Olympian Within, and president of the U.S. Olympic Alumni

Named one of the “Best Sports Books of 2001” by The London Times



About the Author
P.H. Mullen has written for numerous publications, including Sports Illustrated, Travel & Leisure, USA Today, and The Washington Post. He also holds one of history's fastest times for swimming the English Channel. Mr. Mullen graduated from Dartmouth College and lives in northern California with his wife and daughter.



Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

Tension builds along with skills as two American swimmers prepare for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Journalist Mullen (Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, etc.) begins at the 1998 World Championships, where Kurt Grote and Tom Wilkens finish first and seventh, respectively, in the 200-meter breaststroke. Soon after, the two former walk-ons at Stanford begin their Olympic training schedules. Friends and rivals, they lead different lifestyles. Grote, a naturally gifted swimmer, balances his athletics against the requirements of med school and a new marriage. His protege, Wilkens, more workhorse than prodigy, has no life outside the pool and is uncertain which events are his best. Both young men entrust their careers to Dick Jochums, the new head man at the Santa Clara Swim Club: a Bobby Knight-like coach fired from his job at the University of Arizona-abusive, self-righteous, burning with a redemptive fury to reestablish himself as an elite coach and restore Santa Clara to the national prominence it last held in the 1970s. Mullen uses other SCSC members to dramatize the world of the top-level swimmer. Dod Wales, son of an Olympian, evaluates all coaching suggestions with Spock-like rationality. Tate Blahnik's immense talent is tempered by his bitterness about past coaching exploitation. Dara Torres's feminine presence cheerfully alters the atmosphere of the macho club. Assistant Coach John Bitter is brilliant on the pool deck, but dangerously careless with the club's cash. Olympic stars Lenny Krayzelburg, Jenny Thompson, and Tom Dolan make cameo appearances. A journalist and former collegiate and professional swimmer, Mullen confidently covers the design of a "fast" pool,swimming physics, collegiate and Olympic politics, and race strategy as his deftly constructed story moves through the exciting 1999 Pan-Pacific meet at midpoint to the climactic Olympics. Merits a spot on the top step of the podium. (8 pp. b&w photos, not seen)


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices