Released on: July 2, 2008, 3:17 am

Press Release Author: Randolph Walker

Industry: Entertainment

Press Release Summary: Athletes Denied Opportunity To Compete At Boycotted 1980
Olympics Featured, In Latest Book By Identical Twin Authors Tom and Jerry
Caraccioli. Vice President Walter Mondale Writes Foreword


Press Release Body:

New York, N.Y, July 2, 2008 -- Don Paige and Gwen Gardner, two Olympic medal
contending athletes denied the opportunity to compete in the U.S. boycotted 1980
Moscow Olympic Games, are two of eighteen athletes featured in the new book BOYCOTT
- Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

Written by Tom and Jerry Caraccioli, BOYCOTT: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow
Olympic Games ($25.95, New Chapter Press) chronicles the stories of 18 elite
athletes who trained thousands of hours for their once-in-a-lifetime chance at
Olympic glory in Moscow only to become pawns in a political Cold War chess match
between superpowers. The book also outlines the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that
led to the boycott, efforts by some athletes to overturn to the boycott by legal
means and the entire 1980 team's eventual ceremonial gold

Vice President Walter F. Mondale, who spoke on behalf of the boycott prior to the
USOC's April 12, 1980 vote to officially boycott the Games, wrote the Foreword for
the book. Mondale apologizes to all the athletes who were denied the opportunity to
compete calling them, "warriors in our country's defense of freedom."

Paige, a native of Baldwinsville, N.Y., a graduate of Villanova University,
qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team in the 800 meters and, despite not
competing the Moscow Games, ranked No. 1 in the world in the 800 meters that year by
virtue of a dramatic victory over Britain's Sebastian Coe in Viareggio, Italy. Says
Paige in the book about the boycott today, "There will always be politics in sports,
and I believe Jimmy Carter made the best decision he could at the time. I'm not
going to sit here and say he made a bad decision. I still say maybe because Don
Paige did not go to the Olympics, maybe I spared one life in Afghanistan. And, if I
did, I sleep really well at night because of that. It makes me feel good and proud."
Paige now runs the Paige Design Group, a firm that plans and designs track and field
facilities in Bahama, N.C.

Gardner, from Los Angeles and a standout runner at Crenshaw High School, qualified
for the 1980 Olympic team in the women's 400 meters - finishing second at the
trials. She knew, however, that due to the world political circumstances that she
would not compete at the Games. An injury while performing as a stunt double in a
movie, prevented her from qualifying for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. Says Gardner in
the book of making the 1980 team, "It was bittersweet. By then, I knew, even though
I obtained the goal I had strived for as a child - I would always be an Olympian
just like all the other athletes who competed - (that) it would have an asterisk
because we didn't actually go over to Moscow and compete." Gardner is now a Deputy
Sheriff in Los Angeles County.

Athletes featured in the book are:

Don Paige (Athletics) Philadelphia, Pa. / Bahama, N.C.
Glenn Mills (Swimming) Ridgeville, Ohio / Chester, Md.
Gwen Gardner (Athletics) Los Angeles, Calif
Gene Mills (Wrestling) Pompton Lakes, N.J. / Liverpool, N.Y.
Craig Beardsley (Swimming) New York, N.Y. / Chatham, N.J.
Sue Walsh (Swimming) Hamburg, N.Y. / Durham, N.C.
Bill Hanzlik (Basketball) Beloit, Wisc., / Denver, Colo.
Amy Koopman (Gymnastics) Arlington Heights, Ill.
Isiah Thomas (Basketball) Chicago, Ill. / New York, N.Y.
Carol Blazejowski (Basketball) Fairview, N.J.
Luci Collins (Gymnastics) Englewood, Calif.
David Kimes (Shooting) Monterey Park, Calif. / La Palma, Calif.
Brian Gust (Wrestling) Lakeville, Minn.
Lisa Buese (Swimming) Louisville, Ky. / Palo Alto, Calif.
Linda Cornelius Waltman (Athletics) Ft. Worth, Tx / Boerne, TX
Thomas Schuler (Cycling) Birmingham, Mich. / Wauwatosa, WI
Ron Galimore (Gymnastics) Ames, Iowa / Indianapolis, Ind.
Debbie Landreth (Volleyball) El Segundo, Calif. / Granger, Ind.

Boycott is the second book written by the Caraccioli's - identical twins raised in
Oswego, N.Y. In 2006, they wrote Striking Silver: The Untold Story of America's
Forgotten Hockey Team about the 1972 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Tom Caraccioli
resides in Philadelphia, Pa., while Jerry Caraccioli lives in New York City. More
info on the book can be found at www.boycottbook.com.

Boycott is published by New Chapter Press - also the publisher of The Roger Federer
Story, Quest for Perfection by Rene Stauffer and The Bud Collins History of Tennis
by Bud Collins. Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.newchapterpressmedia.com) is
an independent publisher of books and part of the Independent Publishers Group.
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Contact:
Randolph Walker
New Chapter Press Media
New York, N.Y
917-770-0843
randolphswalker@gmail.com
http://www.newchapterpressmedia.com

Web Site: http://www.newchapterpressmedia.com

Contact Details: Randolph Walker
New Chapter Press Media
New York, N.Y
917-770-0843
randolphswalker@gmail.com
http://www.newchapterpressmedia.com