"God answers my prayers everywhere except on the golf-course."
Brutal
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Iwan Thomas, Bloomsbury, 2024. ISBN 9781399413657
Iwan Thomas was European Champions ay 400m in 1998. He also won relay medals at global events. He started off as a cyclist becoming an athlete almost by accident with no coach and no club.
The book brings out the challenge and intensity of his event: “The quarter mile is a mean bastard. A torture rack of an event. One that demands ultimate commitment”. He describes injury as “an occupational hazard”. In one brilliant section is asks himself if he would have preferred to train with less intensity, run at a slightly lower standard but have a longer career – and gibes a resounding “No”.
He writes honestly about his coach: “Mike Smith was a brilliant coach… but had one blind spot. He had never been an elite athlete and he never understood injuries”. He felt in retrospect that his coach’s inexperience led to him running too much
He is very good on the pressure of being injured and potentially losing sponsorship: “being injured is like a prison sentence I had no idea when it would end or what to do…injury is such a lonely place. I desperately missed the training, the meetings, the socialising”.
There is a brilliant chapter of retirement: “I was no longer Iwan Thomas the athlete, I was just Iwan Thomas whoever he was”.
A good insight into the life of the professional athlete.