Summer Olympics in the Spotlight

Have you ever wondered how athletes become Olympians? Canadian Olympic runner and author Madeleine Kelly explains the history of the Games, how athletes train for their event, ancient Greek athletes to contemporary competitors representing a number of different sports (including skateboarding, martial arts, and rock climbing), and more. “Fun fact” boxes shed light on sports that are new to the games as well as some that are no longer included, the Olympic motto, and the tradition of playing the anthem of the gold medalist’s country as they are honored.

Simone Biles has been called the greatest gymnast of all time, winning five Olympic and 25 World Champion medals by age 22. Before she wowed the world with her incredible gymnastics skills, Simone was an energetic young girl who dreamed of becoming a top gymnast. She trained for hours every day and made many sacrifices to pursue her goals. Explore how Simone Biles went from being a kid growing up in Texas to an Olympic athlete who has won more gymnastics medals than anyone in history.

Growing up in Damascus, the pool was Yusra Mardini’s happy place. She learned to swim before she could walk. And with swimming came a dream ― to compete in the Olympic games. But when war came to Syria, Yusra’s home ― and her pool ― were no longer safe. Yusra and her sister set out on a harrowing journey, crossing the sea in search of safety. Crammed on a too-small refugee boat, disaster strikes when the boat’s motor breaks. Scared but determined, Yusra plunges into the water and starts swimming.

Learn about the amazing life of three-time Olympic gold medalist Florence Griffith Joyner–and how she persisted. Considered the fastest woman of all time, Florence Griffith Joyner, also known as Flo Jo, set two world records in 1988 that still stand today. But getting there wasn’t easy, and Flo Jo had to overcome many challenges along the way.
 

Teen sports reporter Susan Carol is competing as a swimmer at her first-ever Olympic games. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, and her best friend Stevie is both amazed and envious. Usually they cover sporting events together, now he’s covering her. But Stevie can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right. Everyone wants a piece of Susan Carol’s success — agents, sponsors, the media. Just how far will they go to ensure that America’s newest Olympic darling wins gold?
 

Olympian Willye B. White was born in 1939 in Money, Mississippi, abandoned by both her parents, and worked alongside her grandparents in the cotton fields. Willye had big dreams, though. So when her cousin noticed she was the fastest runner around, Willye jumped at the chance to put on her traveling shoes and run her way to better opportunities, first with the Tennessee State Tigerbelles and then with the US Olympic team. Willye had to remind herself, “I believe in me,” whether she was running and jumping or witnessing the turmoil of the Civil Rights Movement.

Boomer the Pig has been training hard for the Animal Olympics, so when he loses his first race, he shrugs it off and cheerfully moves on. One event after another, Boomer keeps losing, and the frustration begins to get to him. But even after coming in last in every sport, there’s no getting this Olympig down. This encouraging and funny story is for every kid who’s ever been told “you can’t win ‘em all.”

Lucile “Ludy” Godbold was six feet tall and skinnier than a Carolina pine and an exceptional athlete. In her final year on the track team at Winthrop College in South Carolina, Ludy tried the shot put and she made that iron ball sail with her long, skinny arms. But when Ludy qualified for the first Women’s Olympics in 1922, Ludy had no money to go. Thanks to the help of her college and classmates, Ludy traveled to Paris and won the gold medal with more than a foot to spare. 

From boxing to boccia, find out just what it takes to compete in every sport in the summer games. You’ll discover what makes each sport great — and not so great — as well as what skills and equipment you’ll need to start practicing like a pro!

Get ready…as a young boy growing up in Athens, your father has high hopes that you’ll enter the Olympic games. It’s demanding!

Teen skateboarding phenom Sky Brown knows how to go big. After becoming a professional athlete at age 10, she became the first woman to land a frontside 540 at the X Games and won an Olympic medal at age 13. Young readers will eagerly follow Sky’s story as she recounts how she got started in the sport and what it feels like to compete. Then they’ll find their own skateboarding magic as she shows basic skills like choosing a stance, stopping, and dropping in.

Despite being named after a famous ballerina, little Mia Hamm never cared for pirouettes. Instead, she chased the ball: baseball, basketball, and especially soccer. Since she was often the only girl on her sports teams, she had a hard time making friends. But when fifteen-year-old Mia made the U.S. women’s national soccer team, everything changed. All around her, young women tackled and dribbled, passed and kicked, scored, and screamed. They were just like her ― but even more skilled. She was determined not to let her team down.

The annual Fun Run is coming up at Brookside Elementary! The students will all run laps around the carpool lane, and Miles Lewis wants to be one of the top five runners. Even though he zooms through sprints, he runs out of gas for long distance, so he creates a nutrition and exercise regimen to boost his endurance. But on the big day, he witnesses one kid struggling to keep going. Should Miles keep pressing for his personal best, or should he lend support to help a friend? In the end, Miles must decide what winning really means to him.

Dedicating his life to helping patients labeled “incurables,” Ludwig Guttmann fought for the rights of paraplegics to live a full life. The young doctor believed — and eventually proved — that physical movement is key to healing, a discovery that led him to create the first Paralympic Games.

Everything seemed set against Chaunté Lowe. Growing up with a single mother in Paso Robles, California, where she experienced food insecurity, homelessness, and domestic abuse. But then, one day, she turned on the TV and there was Flo Jo, competing in the Olympics and shattering records in track and field. Chaunté worked hard — both in the classroom and out on the sports field — and through her own fierce determination and grit, she overcame every imaginable obstacle, eventually propelling herself to the place she always dreamed about: the Olympic medal podium.

Explore elite wheelchair racer, wrestler, America’s Got Talent contestant, and Netflix documentary star Zion Clark’s journey from a childhood lost in the foster care system to his hard-fought rise as a high school wrestler to his current rigorous training to prepare as an elite athlete on the world stage.

Out of the depths of the Great Depression comes the astonishing tale of nine working-class boys from the American West who at the 1936 Olympics showed the world what true grit really meant. With rowers who were the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew was never expected to defeat the elite East Coast teams, yet they did, going on to shock the world by challenging the German boat rowing for Adolf Hitler.

The inspirational and little-known story of a dedicated teacher who coached Hawaiian swimmers all the way to the Olympics, beautifully told in simple rhyme. When the children of workers on a 1930s Maui sugar plantation were chased away from playing in the nearby irrigation ditches, local science teacher Soichi Sakamoto had an idea. He offered to take responsibility for the children — and then he began training them how to swim. Using his science background, Sakamoto devised his own innovative coaching techniques.