Our Olympic books

Our Olympic books

With the Paris Olympics just ten days away, it's time to highlight our two Olympic books published this year.

The first, released in March, is an autobiography of 1980 Gold Medalist Michelle Ford, in Swimming, Turning the Tide, written with Craig Lord.

Many of you may be too young to know, let alone remember, that the 1980 Moscow Olympics was clouded in controversy as it came soon after the then Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, which meant many Western governments around the world - including our own - wanted Olympic athletes to boycott the Games. Australia did not send a full team because individual sporting organisations and athletes were given a choice about whether to attend. But for 17-year-old Ford, who had been - literally - swimming for this moment her entire life, she could not do anything but attend.

Taking part in an Olympic Games in the Soviet era against the wishes of your government is difficult enough. But the other remarkable aspect of these Games was that East Germany was in the midst of what we now know as a remarkable state-sanctioned doping program. This meant women athletes, and particularly swimmers, were literally Amazonian-like compared with the fast but ordinary Aussie kid from Sans Souci.

It's a matter of Australian sporting history that Ford became the only non-East German woman to win a Gold Medal in the pool that year. And so, she is in an unassailable position to prosecute the case for the women who missed out on medals, or higher medals, to receive justice in light of the East German doping regime.

This is why Michelle Ford is hellbent on Turning the Tide. She wants the women who missed out on medals in Moscow and other Olympics to receive what should be rightfully theirs. 

The second book, released last month, is also an incredible story of an otherwise forgotten team: the 1988 Seoul Olympics Gold Medal winners in women's hockey. This team embodies the concept of a champion team rather than a team of champions

Not only were they the first to win a gold medal in hockey, but they were also the first Australian team to win a gold medal in any sport. 

Ladies First by Ashley Morrison delivers into why this team, despite their groundbreaking success, has largely been overlooked by history.

Set against the backdrop of one of the last amateur Games, the story raises questions about the shifting landscape of sports and the challenges faced by female athletes in gaining recognition for their accomplishments.

It shines a light on these trailblazing women who etched their names into Australia's sporting history and who were the pioneers for the team we now know as the 'Hockeyroos'.

Ease yourself into the Olympics and read these two wonderful stories. 


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