By a Fraction of a Second: The inside Story of Nine Swimmers Pursuing Their Dreams of the Olympics SYNOPSIS
The top swimmers at the U.S. Olympic Trials all have talent, desire, determination, and years of hard work behind them. Only two in each event make the Olympic swim team. What makes the difference when the top eight finalists leave the blocks to go for those top two spots?
By a Fraction of a Second tells the stories of nine female swimmers, during the year-and-a-half leading up to the 2000 Olympic Trials. Representing different parts of the country and specializing in different events, they include American record holders, members of the 1999 Pan Am and Pan Pac championships teams, NCAA swimmers and members of the U.S. National A Team, including Kristy Kowal, Lindsay Benko, Kristine Quance-Julian, and Keiko Price.
Based on exclusive interviews with the swimmers and their coaches, By a Fraction of a Second tells the role confidence plays in winning -- and how easily it can be shattered. How success can sometimes be as hard to cope with as disappointment, and what motivates a swimmer day after day to try to become one of a handful of elite athletes who can call themselves Olympians.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
From John Feinstein, author of The Majors and A March to Madness:
It is almost impssible for a non-swimmer to understand what elite swimmers go through to reach the top of their sport. This book pulls off that near-impossible feat.
— John Feinstein
From the Foreword by Summers Sanders, 1992 Olympic gold medalist:
It's not about the final place or the final time. It's not about the goal. It's all about the journey. And when it comes to a journey, it's hard to top the U.S. Olympic Trials. Even the Olympics cannot compare. If you don't win a medal at the Olympics, you are still an Olympian. If you get third place at Trials, you don't get to go.
— Summers Sanders
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