Culture | Sport

Fast and faster

Two books show the harsher side of competitive sport

FEW athletes have captured the world's attention as did Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett in the early 1980s. These British runners shared an extraordinary talent for breaking records and beating opponents—the two yardsticks by which athletic excellence is measured. But it was their fierce rivalry, more redolent of professional boxing than middle-distance running, that transformed their clashes at the Olympics into unmissable events. A runner himself, Pat Butcher has chronicled the way these two swift men spurred each other to glory and redefined their sport in the process, though ultimately for worse rather than better.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Fast and faster”

Sudan can't wait

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