Inside The Games | Olympics | Olympic News, Events, People

You should write a book – how many people have that suggested to them at sometime in their life? My guess at least, is that most retired international sportspeople will have had that rather teasing, tempting comment thrust upon them by some well meaning friend, relative or mischievous joker who wants to know what really happened, what it really felt like.
 

Misguided or not, I picked up the literary baton and recklessly ran with it (more accurately walked with it) following a 20 year Olympic competitive career that got off to a stuttering start in 1980 and ended in spectacular fashion in Sydney 2000.
 

The words of my first book are almost done. It’s been hard, it’s been slow, but I’m getting there…and before some wag jumps in and suggests much like your Olympic career then, I can, in some prickly defence, proudly recall winning a few national and international races. This and much more as they say, is told in a semi-autobiographical novel with a working title of "Money Walks".

Time will tell as to whether or not my manuscript gets published and is either well received or takes the scenic route to the bargain bin at your local bookstore. Either way, it has been an interesting experience revisiting all those memories that for the most part I can cherish while others have taken me back to dark places I would have preferred remained more distant. Hey, that’s life.
 

Contacting people who feature in my story has been a surprisingly uplifting experience. Characters in my book are based on real persons who generally have had their names changed to fictional ones; not all, but most. So far, and without exception, all those kind folk including other athletes, coaches, and media related people (including the author of this website) have given me their blessing and encouragement to go ahead. Early indications are that I’m unlikely to make much money out of this proposed book as most want in return a free signed copy.
 

So, what’s it all about? Answer: a British race walker. Okay, so I’ve possibly lost at least half the readers of this blog at this point. Sorry Duncan, maybe they’ll hear about it later.
 

Set in the year 2000, it tells the story of the attempts of the main character (me!) to qualify for Sydney and the events leading up to and beyond the Games. While holding down two low paid part-time jobs and barely scraping a living, much of his training is done around the rugged landscape of Dartmoor in Devon. In spite of it being the sixth consecutive Games that he’s qualified for and the fifth selection, he’s not having an easy time of it. Unfunded, unheralded, arguably too old, his life is a bit of a mess.

The sport comedy/romance underdog story has been told before in various guises with various clichéd endings. I don’t believe this one falls into that tired category.
 

Historical elements are told in prose, interviews, dialogue and flashback, and represents a true and accurate reflection of actual events. For example, I ran my first marathon when I was 10 years old. Okay, I was a cub scout doing a sponsored walk and at a time long before health and safety issues were more prominent and such madness frowned upon. But, natural competitive instincts ensured that I had to win it.

As a teenager I ran and walked competitively, combining my love of playing football and rugby, still doing crazy sponsored events like our town’s annual 50 mile walk which I did six times winning the last two; not necessarily the best grounding for the Moscow Olympics, but I still did more orthodox competitions. 

Winning an International 50 kilometres race in Poland in April 1980 in a new British record and qualifying time by over three minutes had given me a great chance of competing on the greatest of all stages. Back then, I didn’t truly understand why the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan could have repercussions that would so adversely affect a naïve athlete from Devon, but it was no less heartbreaking.
 

Breaking more British 50km records in 1983 and 1984 saw me get my Olympic chance in Los Angeles. The Games were wonderful and lived up to all my hopes, dreams and expectations. Finishing 16th in 100 degrees heat, the race itself was hell however. After graduating from Exeter University in 1986 and competing weeks later in Edinburgh at the Commonwealth Games finishing fourth in the 30km walk, I had planned to retire and try and get a good job. I’m still trying.
 

My sporting swan-song finally came in Sydney with an unexpected finale. Much of my experiences at my final Games I have tried to articulate in my recent writings. Without wishing to give my manuscript the kiss of death, I will say that they were an amazing spectacle and, with due deference to Beijing, still arguably the best Olympic Games ever.

For me personally, I had problems from the start. But, from the time I arrived at the Gold Coast training camp and belatedly meeting up with the rest of the British athletics team until the end of the Games, few things were predictable though ultimately so overwhelmingly memorable…which is quite handy when when you want to write about it years later.

Chris Maddocks is the only male athlete to have represented Britain in five Olympic Games. He retired from international competition after finishing last in the 50km race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney because he was suffering from a hamstring injury. He finished more than an hour behind the winner but was given a standing ovation by a crowd of 100,000. HIs gutsy performance was rewarded with Ron Pickering Memorial Award at the annual dinner of the British Athletics Writers' Association. He still holds a number of British records, including the 10km and 50km