Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History

About this book

Winner Autobiography/Memoir International Book Awards 2023 Winner Biography/Autobiography Track and Field Writers of America (TAFWA) Book Award 2022 A raw uplifting story from one of the most important hidden figures in track and field history. When Pauline Davis first began to run it wasnt with any thought of future Olympic glory. A product of the poor neighborhood of Bain Town in The Bahamas she carried the familys buckets every day to fetch fresh waterrunning sideways sprinting barefoot from bullies to get the buckets of water home without spilling. But when a seasoned track coach saw Pauline sprinting he saw the heart of a champion. In Running Sideways Pauline Davis shares her inspiring story. Born and raised in the ghetto Pauline fought through poverty inequality racism and political machinations from her own country to beat the odds and become a two-time Olympic gold medalist the first individual gold medalist in sprinting from the Caribbean the first Black woman on the World Athletics council and a central figure in the Russian anti-doping campaign. A casualty herself of the doping plague that hit track and fieldshe wouldnt be awarded her individual gold medal until Marion Jones was infamously stripped of her medals for dopingPauline dedicated her years on the World Athletics council to clean sport and fair play. Running Sideways is a book about determination faith focus and an incredible will to succeed. Its about a trailblazer in womens sports not just in The Bahamas not just in track and field but on the global stage.