The pentathlon, comprising competition in the discus, javelin, long jump, sprint, and wrestling, was hailed as the ultimate test of athletic versatility and remained a staple of the ancient Greek Olympic Games, Crown Games and Pan-Hellenic festivals for 1,200 years. Still, there is little scholarly consensus over many major aspects of the event. This detailed exploration of the ancient pentathlon discusses the nature of the spectacle, the method of determining a victor, the five sub-events and the order in which they occurred. It also chronicles the history of the event and its champions, the recognition of ancient pentathletes, and the pentathlon's 18-year modern Olympic history and its influence on its contemporary counterpart, the decathlon. A record book and glossary complete this fresh look at one of the ancient world's most renowned sporting competitions.

The Olympic Games, revived in 1896, are the most well known international multisport gathering--but since 1896, hundreds of other competitions based on the Olympic Games model have been established whose histories have not been well documented. The Encyclopedia of International Games captures (in one alphabetical sequence) the histories of these games, many of them for the first time. The work includes major regional events such as the African, Asian, Arab, South Pacific, and Pan American Games; competitions such as the Indian Ocean Island Games, Arctic Winter Games, Island Games, and Games of the Small Countries of Europe; specific populations or professions such as the North American Indigenous Games, Maccabiah Games, World Military Games, World Police and Fire Games, and World Medical and Health Games; and Special Olympics, the Paralympics, games for the blind, and other regional games. Eight appendices, notes, bibliography, index.

Sport and the Emancipation of European Women: the Struggle for Self-fulfilment explores the contributions of European women to the emancipation of women worldwide. It expands understanding of the need for their attitudes and actions and celebrates their achievements in freeing the female body from unwarranted political, cultural and social restraint in the courageous pursuit of the Enlightenment 's ' secular value system: ‘the unity of mankind and basic personal freedoms and {a} world of tolerance, knowledge, education and opportunity' (from Roy Porter, Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World, 2004). The Collection records the pulling down of European barriers via sport to women’s realisation of ability and release of talent and their conquest of crushing inhibitions, inexcusable irrationality, intolerable prejudice and denial of opportunity : no barriers came down without confrontation. The struggle to overthrow prejudice set for the first time in the context of recent European history and the recent evolution of European sport, is described in this pioneering Collection. It is the first publication to focus specifically on European women and their struggle for emancipation via sport. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.

With some 50,000 men and women competing worldwide, and spectators numbering in the tens of thousands, Masters-level track and field proves that athletes of any age may be recognized by their passion for sports, their interest in fitness, and their skill. In this book-length account of track and field competition by men over 40 and women over 35, the leaders of the Masters program discuss its growth since 1968 and the role of the older athlete in the world of sport. The work also reviews the effects of aging on performance and explains the adjustments of standards and scoring.