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Available online and
in bookstores everywhere!
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Fall 2012 ! |
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Great athletes are always in a race against time, one personal best after another. Then an athlete like Tony comes along and sets the bar higher and yet again higher. This inspiring story is about the thrill of victory to be sure—winning Olympic Gold—but it is also a reminder about human potential: the ability to push ourselves beyond the ledge of imagination, and to develop grit that fuels indefatigable determination. Simply a powerful, powerful, story. —Charlie Huebner, United States Olympic Committee
Tony Volpentest, a four-time Gold Medalist and five-time World Champion sprinter, holds the title as the fastest runner in the world.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Tony Volpentest has been breaking world records and winning Olympic gold medals since 1992. He’s a World Champion sprinter and was honored to carry the Olympic flame at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But it is not so much the medals he sports that make him admirable; it is the grit and determination that got him there. In the Fastest Man in the World, Tony shares his incredible journey.
Tony Volpentest is inspirational from the first moment you meet him. His message is there is greatness in all of us—and that attaining it is about pushing yourself beyond your perceived limits.
He isn’t saying it’s easy—just that the formula works. In high school, Tony joined the track team knowing “nobody got cut.” He came in last at every race but pushed on. By his senior year in high school, he lettered and was finishing second and third place consistently and his times were close to Paralympic world records. He knew if he visualized himself breaking those world records, he could.
And he did. Though born without hands or feet, he is the fastest runner in the world. He is a four-time Gold Medalist and five-time World Champion sprinter.
Tony began his international dominance when he claimed gold in the 100 and 200 meters and broke two world records at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. At the Atlanta, Georgia Paralympic Games in 1996 Tony once again confirmed his status as one of the world’s finest athletes. Having been chosen to carry the Olympic Torch in homeland, U.S.A, and inspired by a large home crowd, Tony again claimed gold in the 100 meter setting a new world record (11.36 seconds) and took home another gold in the 200 meter. At the World Championships in Barcelona in 1999 he won both the 100 and 200 meters as well and set yet another new world record in the 200 meter (22.85 seconds).
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He’s won numerous honors including the International Olympic Committee Presidents Disabled Athletes Award, the United States Olympic Committee Athlete of the Year Award, Sports Star of the Year and served as the National Spokesman for Shriner’s Hospitals. He has been featured on numerous radio and TV talk shows, among them, CNN. He was Sports Illustrated's Athlete of the Year.
You name it, Tony has done it. And he’s just “warming up”! An inspiration to many the world over, Tony speaks to audiences around the world on the importance of pushing oneself beyond perceived limits.
Tony is married and the father of a young son, and works with and trains others aspiring to be champions.
Photography by Chris Hamilton Photography
REVIEWS
Any time you feel like quitting, or fear that your dream is beyond your reach, as Tony Volpentest reminds us in his incredibly inspiring book, the only thing holding you back is yourself. —Dan O’Brien, World and Olympic Champion
What do the names Lou Ferrigno, Joe DiMaggio, Mary Lou Retton, Tony LaRussa, Vince Lombardi, Rocky Marciano, and Mario Andretti have in common? For starters, they are some of the all-time greatest athletes. Tony Volpentest is another name deserving of mention in this list. Years ago, I had the pleasure of presenting Tony with our special achievements award for his dedication and determination to succeed in Paralympic Sports and for his commitment to the advancement of physically challenged athletes. Such is his character and commitment that makes him worthy to stand alongside the all-time greats. Tony’s book will move, inspire, and challenge you to push yourself no matter the odds! —George Randazzo, Chairman and Founder, National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame
Are world-class athletes born or made? Tony Volpentest’s incredible story shows that no matter where we start the race, we all have it within us to not only catch up with the pack, but pass it and leave it panting in our wake. All it takes is a goal and the unbending will to attain it...no matter the obstacles.—Oscar Pistorius, “Blade Runner” Double Amputee World Record Holder in the 100, 200 and 400 meters
Tony has earned gold medals and an assortment of trophies—but as this story shows, what he’s really won is out our admiration, respect, and hearts. —John Rixley Moore, author of Hostage of Paradox
What a story! What a life! A must read!—Leon Logothetis, Best-selling author of ADVENTURES OF A NOBODY
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