The Second Mark

By Joy Goodwin

Book Overview

It was billed as the greatest event in the history of pair skating: three of the best teams of all time battling for Olympic gold on one night in Salt Lake City. Technical ability was approximately equal. It was the artistic merit score that would decide the gold medal -- the second mark.Representing Canada, China, and Russia, the three pairs illuminated their distinct cultures. On the second mark, whose culture would triumph? Would it be the beauty of the Russians' ballet on ice, the thrill of the Chinese pair's heart-stopping acrobatics, or the Canadians' passionate connection with the audience? In a down-to-the-wire nail-biter, the difference between gold and silver came down to the vote of a single judge. Hours later, a bombshell: the confession of a French judge unleashed a worldwide debate -- and ultimately produced an unprecedented duplicate gold medal.The Second Mark reveals what an athlete really goes through to become the best in the world, through the riveting stories of unforgettable people. We meet Yelena Berezhnaya of Russia, who survives emergency brain surgery after a near-fatal training accident and makes it back to the Olympics in less than two years. We meet Zhao Hongbo, a young boy skating in subzero weather in remotest China, who will fulfill his coach's twenty-year dream of catching up to the West. And we meet two Canadians, a barista and a concession stand worker, who had almost quit the sport before deciding to give it one last try -- and becoming world champions.Exhaustively researched by a skating insider, The Second Mark takes readers deep into the world of the Olympic athlete, illuminating the fascinating differences between East and West. From the frozen fields of China to the secret corridors of the old Soviet sports system, from a tiny farm village in remotest Quebec to the judges' backstage world, The Second Mark tells the compelling human stories behind one of the most controversial nights in Olympic history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416578323
• ISBN13: 9781416578321
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Book!!

This book has interesting information on the childhoods, tribulations, and triumphs of Jamie Sale, David Pelletier, Shen Xue, Zhao Hongbo, and Elena Berezhnaya. The one person it is lacking information on is Anton Sikharulidze. It goes through their elite careers and touches on competitions leading up to the games. The play-by-play account of the Olympics brings you back to the day you watched the pair's final. If you are looking for information on the scandal other than what was printed in newspapers, don't bother reading this book. Overall, it gives information that is hard to find elsewhere on the six skater's lives before and after the Olympics. I highly reccomend this book.

compelling drama behind the scenes

The biographical information about the three pairs is what makes the book so intensely readable. The Olympic controversy was well-covered but not very exciting. What the skaters, especially the Chinese, have endured to get where they are is almost unbelievable.

6.0 for The Second Mark

This is the best skating book I have ever read! I have been a figure skating afficiando for more than a decade now and I have read and loved Christine Brennan's books but this one is far better! I loved the "fly on the wall" approach to what is takes to be an Olympic quality pair skater. I enjoyed learning about my favorite skaters and their vastly different lives. I found the first few sections about the preparation more interesting than the Salt Lake scandal aspect, however I enjoyed reading that part too. This book is extremely well researched with first hand interviews from the skaters and their families. I respect the author's decission to stay as true to the original spellings of Russian names and the proper order of Chinese names. I give this book a 6.0! I couldn't put it down! I recommend it to every die-hard skating fan out there!

A book that transcends skating, for fans and everyone else

THE SECOND MARK is a wonderful example of how good, solid reporting can transform a nonfiction book into a page-turner. This is a meticulously-researched account of the 2002 Olympic pairs competition. If you thought you knew all about it, think again. The story spans three continents and four decades, Communism and capitalism. I am so impressed by the stories of these people, which are so beautifully told. I never wanted the book to end. And I especially appreciated how hard the author tried to represent the points of view of so many different cultures. The author gives you a chance to really appreciate what every pair offers. She points out that the Russians might easily have won even if the judging hadn't been biased-it wasn't a lock for the Canadians, as was so widely reported. The Chinese were consistently underscored over the years. The Canadians' perspective, which we all have heard, is presented in a fresh way, too. This is a serious book by a fine writer. I recommend it wholeheartedly. TJLong Island, NY

The Second Mark

Like Seabiscuit, Friday Night Lights, and Eight Men Out, The Second Mark transcends the sports genre. The figure skating is there, all right, but so is the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the lost generation of Mao's Cultural Revolution, a little boy carrying a bedboard down flights of stairs to use as a pingpong table, and a Chinese girl skating by candlelight in a deserted, late night ice rink. In both large strokes and small details, the book takes you, not only into the lives of the six medalists in the Olympics pairs skating competition, but into the cultures from which you cannot separate them. It is an amazing story that unfolds, even if you thought you knew it. Beautifully written and seen--Joy Goodwin's writing is worthy of the story and that is high praise. I loved this book!