1500 by Mike Colman

Nations become most attached to those sports and Olympic events in which they are most successful. This is how Mike Colman explains Australia’s fascination with a 30-lap swimming race—the men’s 1500 metres. Rather than writing a biography of one of the current crop of swimming stars, his book opts to tell the story of how Australia came to be the most successful country in this Olympic discipline from 1908 to the present day.

Nations become most attached to those sports and Olympic events in which they are most successful. This is how Mike Colman explains Australia’s fascination with a 30-lap swimming race—the men’s 1500 metres. Rather than writing a biography of one of the current crop of swimming stars, his book opts to tell the story of how Australia came to be the most successful country in this Olympic discipline from 1908 to the present day.