AMAZINGLY, there have been three biographries about Emil Zatopek this year. Pat Butcher’s version might be the bronze medallist with regards the speed and timing of publishing, but it is definitely a gold medal contender when it comes to the quality of the book itself.
Rick Broadbent’s Endurance and Richard Askwith’s TodayWe Die a Little beat Butcher’s biography in the race to the bookstands earlier this year, but Quicksilver – the mecurial Emil Zatopek is a superbly well-researched and beautifully-written account of an athletics legend who won four Olympic titles, three European golds and broke 18 world records.