Olympic Swimming

The feel-good underdog story of the first American swimmer to win Olympic gold, set against the turbulent rebirth of the modern Games, that “bring[s] to life an inspiring figure and illuminate[s] an overlooked chapter in America’s sports history” (The Wall Street Journal) “Once or twice...

Born to Run meets Why We Swim and Breath in this globe-spanning narrative about how cold water and swimming can transform—and even extend—your life. Lifelong athlete and Sports Illustrated writer Chris Ballard worried his days of exercise were numbered. Then he received a fateful text...

A New York Times bestselling memoir from Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and the most decorated US female Olympian in history: Katie Ledecky. Katie Ledecky has won more individual Olympic races than any female swimmer in history. She is a four-time Olympian, a nine-time gold medalist, a...

Just in time for the 2012 Olympics - prepare to peek into the mind of a champion with this newly updated edition of Michael Phelps’ autobiography, Beneath the Surface. In this candid memoir, Phelps talks openly about his battle with attention deficit disorder, the trauma of his parents’ divorce, and the challenges that come with being thrust into the limelight.

The climax of an uplifting journey and a coming-of-age story about reaching higher and dreaming big. Kelcy Woodson, after a stellar high school swim season, embarks on an intense three-month journey to qualify for the Olympics. Kelcy has the support of her mom, Coach Julie, best friends Alice and Bella, and a team of tech innovators to achieve her goal. Kelcy navigates the pressures of training, academics, and sudden fame while chasing her Olympic dream. With cutting-edge technology and unwavering determination, she faces rivals, overcomes setbacks, and discovers the true meaning of ...

The New York Times bestselling inspirational story of impoverished children who transformed themselves into world-class swimmers. In 1937, a schoolteacher on the island of Maui challenged a group of poverty-stricken sugar plantation kids to swim upstream against the current of their circumstance...

Behind the flips, splashes, and speed of Olympic water sports, science is at work. Gravity and centrifugal force are at work as a diver spins and flips before splashing into the water. Olympic swimmers shave their bodies to reduce drag as they zip through the water. Find out how science is involved in all your favorite water events and how athletes take science into account in their quest for the gold medal.

Leisel Jones is regarded as one of the greatest breaststrokers ever. At just 15 she won two silver medals at the Sydney Olympics and went on to win gold at Athens and Beijing. For the first time, Leisel candidly describes being thrust into the limelight so young and reveals the constant pressure she was under. Despite the highs of stardom, she suffered severe depression. Body Lengths is the inspiring story of an Australian sportsperson told with humour, optimism and style.

A compulsive and unforgettable study of intensity, These Heavy Black Bones meditates on Blackness, identity, and the ecstasy of peak physical performance. In stunning prose, Rebecca charts her career's ascent, her singular love of the water, and lays bare the pressures within her swimming world.

A ferociously original novel, sparkling with wit and blazing with emotion, from a gifted new novelist. A spectacular debut about the rise of an Olympic champion -- a novel about competition, obsession, the hunger for victory, and a young girl with an unsinkable spirit struggling to stay afloat...

Inspire kids to be their best selves and get involved in social change with this stunning anthology about thirty-five amazing women in sports around the world and throughout history. Do you play sports? Maybe you dream about scoring a goal on the soccer field or hitting a home run in baseball...

He’s Rafail Slutsky, Olympic medalist. Women drool over his ripped body. He helps charities. He’s a god in a man suit. I’m Cecily Spangler, geek. I snark. I draw. I huddle in my shell like a turtle. Nobody has ever heard of me. Do I need to spell out how wrong we are for each other? Luckily, I’m done with fantasies of celebrities I have no hope of ever meeting. On New Year’s Eve, I resolve to flirt with the nerdy guy I’ve been crushing on over on my favorite forum. I know nothing about him, but I just have this feeling we have a lot in common. And then, joy of joys, he messages ...

Australian swimmer Petria Thomas won the hearts of millions around the world with her triple gold-medal-winning triumph at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Having overcome the pain and anguish of three shoulder reconstructions and two ankle reconstructions over the length of her glittering 12-year career, Petria is admired and respected for her grit, determination, and steely will to win.