From the first modern games in 1896 to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this engrossing collection recounts the bizarre, controversial, heroic, and plain unlucky events that are part and parcel of this worldwide spectacle. Among the figures profiled here are Dorando Pietri—who missed out on marathon gold after being helped over the finish line by over-anxious officials—and "Eric the Eel" from Equatorial Guinea, who was acknowledged as the slowest swimmer in the history of the games.