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Sports biographies
Biographies of New Zealand's top sports heroes
Anthony Wilding won the Wimbledon men's lawn tennis title in 1910 and remains the only New Zealander to have done so. In the years that remained before the Great War, he dominated the international tennis world by defending his Wimbledon title at three successive championships. In 1913 he won world titles on clay, grass and wood, and was thought invincible. Anthony Wilding sits alongside the 1905 All Blacks and Olympic champion Jack Lovelock as one of the most important sporting icons of New Zealand's twentieth-century history.
An autobiography of the netball player Sandra Edge.
The biography of triathlete Hamish Carter, one of New Zealands best-loved and most successful athletes. Carter offers an insight into the fiercely competitive world of the professional triathlete. He discusses the highs and lows, the loneliness of the athlete who is often away from home and family for long periods, and the importance of the team that supports him.
Autobiography of New Zealand cricketer, Richard Hadlee.
The story of the legendary rugby player. From his early years in South Auckland to his grand feats on the field, Lomu tells the story of his struggles and successes.
Biography of All Black rugby player John Kirwan.
This is a light-hearted, sometimes tongue-in-cheek look at Bernice Mene's netballing career from her days at St Joseph's Primary School to the giddying heights of the international game. Opening with a diary of the 1999 World Champs, it provides the inside story of what it's like to play netball at the very top level and includes chapters on touring, Bernice's friends and team-mates, mentors and coaches, "dream teams" and the future of netball. Interwoven are some side-splitting stories and anecdotes from netball's exotic touring beat.
Michael Campbell's victory in the 2005 US Open Golf Championship rates amongst the greatest sporting achievements by a New Zealander. Celebrate the win alongside the champion, understand what it took to capture his first Major title, and relive the moments that lifted the 'boy from Titahi Bay' to the upper echelons of world golf.
Biography of the disabled athlete Eve Rimmer.
Lorraine Moller is one of New Zealand's greatest women distance runners. She traces her development as a world-class competitor and reveals the strategies and coping techniques that took her to the world stage.
Biography of the famous New Zealand squash star Susan Devoy.
With a limited running background, Peter Snell exploded on to the athletic scene at the Rome Olympic Games in 1960. Five years later he retired, leaving behind a meteoric career during which he raced to three Olympic and two Commonwealth Games gold medals, eight world records, two Olympic records, and countless rival runners shattered by his deveastating finishing sprint. At 34, seeking real purpose in his life after running, Snell launched himself into the academic world. With limited education behind him, but with characteristic single-mindedness, he raced to two United States university degrees and durable success as an internationally acknowledged scientific researcher and authority in the fields of human performance, wellness and ageing. This is the story of a remarkable New Zealander who has been heaped with awards, honours and accolades in two separate fields and has achieved the rarity of cult status in a country he left 35 years ago.
Scott Dixon, New Zealand's top racing driver, inhabits the extremely competitive, high-risk, high-stakes world of Indy car racing. In a revealing look at this world, Sandy Mayhre examines what it takes to succeed at the top level, as well as the thrills and the inevitable spills of driving at breakneck speeds on unforgiving, narrow, oval tracks. Scott Dixon: Indy to Indy looks at why Scott Dixon races primarily on these rather than on circuits or streets and explores the intriguing circumstances that brought this about and which lead to his winning the IndyCar series in 2003. Along the way the book traces the evolution and significance of America's iconic sport event, the Indianapolis 500, and the devastating split between the Indy Racing League and Champcar.
A biographical account of the life and achievements of New Zealand sailor Peter Blake.
Mark Todd's account of his successful career tells of the early Pony Club days in New Zealand, through showjumping, to his bursting onto the eventing scene and his winning the first of three Badminton titles in 1980, to his winning of two consecutive Olympic golds on his horse Charisma.
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