The Games: London 2012

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Did you know that Norman Trevor, the famous Hollywood star who acted in Beau Geste, Dancing Mothers etc. won for India its first athletics medals at the Olympics? Did you know that Philip Noel Baker, 1959 Nobel Prize winner was a silver medalist in the 1,500 meters event at the 1920 Games and that he actually slowed down in the home straight to allow Albert Bill, his compatriot, to run on and win his second gold medal? Did you know that Hitler's speech at the Berlin Games, which was steering towards fascism, was cut short by the IOC President, Baillet Latour? Did you know that disgraced sprinter, Ben Johnson, in his autobiography, claims to have been an Egyptian Pharaoh in his previous life? Did you know that Estonian Gerd Kanter, after winning the discus gold at Beijing, actually ran down the 100metre track and did the Usain Bolt routine, including the archer's pose for the benefit of the crowd? Thousands of such anecdotes and more that will keep you entertained during the Olympics and much after.

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Austin Coutinho is a man with many feathers in his cap. A qualified cricket and football coach and a former fast bowler who has played in local leagues, he is the former president of the Mumbai District Football Association, a member of the Maharashtra State Sports Improvement Committee and former subcommittee member, Mumbai Cricket Association. Coutinho has earlier authored Goal Football World Cup Quiz &Fun Book for Popular Prakashan Pvt. Ltd. He has also written books titled The Devil's Pack, Winning Stroke. The '99 World Cup Companion and World Cup Cricket Quiz and Fun Book (1992) for other publications, besides illustrating Willow Tales by Fredun de Vitre, Caught & Told bySandeep Patil, SJAM's Down Under in India (2003) etc. Agifted cartoonist and a well-known sports writer, Coutinho's work has appeared in Sports week, Midday, Times of India, Indian Express and a host of other newspapers all over the country. He has done special cricket and soccer coaching features for Tinkle, the children's magazine. His write ups on sport have appeared on several popular websites and he has contributed crosswords to All Sports and Midday. Manager Customer Relationship Management at the Rashtriya Chemicals& Fertilizers Ltd., and a mentor for a number of Mumbai cricketers, Coutinho has a finger on the pulse of sports, the world over.