The great Peter Snell was one of the most powerful middle-distance runners of all time. He burst onto the international arena as the surprise winner of the 800 metres at the Rome Olympics in 1960, and in Tokyo in 1964 he won gold medals over 800 and 1500 metres. In all he held eight world records. Since that time world-class runners have broken Snell's records over those distances, but nobody - before, during or since - has come close to matching Snell's withering power over the final few hundred metres. After retiring from running at an early age, Snell went to work and study in the United States. As a self-confessed high-school underachiever, unused to academic study, he initially struggled. But he went on to obtain two university degrees and is now an acknowledged world expert on aging, exercise, nutrition and human performance. This biography is the full account of Peter Snell's life as sensational athlete and respected scientist and academic. It picks up the story from Peter's first biography No Bugles, No Drums, which was published in 1965.

Author Biography

The legendary Peter Snell is one of the greatest athletes of all time. In the 1960s he won Olympic gold medals at the 800 and 1500 metres and has held eight world records. He was voted NZ's Sportsman of the Twentieth Century. Snell is now 66 and an associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas. Garth Gilmour has written over a dozen books on athletics and fitness, including Snells's own story and a number of books with famed running coach Arthur Lydiard.