Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Marlen Esparza is fierce, cocky, and built for stardom. This summer she'll go into the ring in London, where she hopes to win gold at the Olympic debut of women’s boxing
Playing fields have long been segregated on the basis of sex. But what happens those whose physiology doesn't match their gender identity? Against whom do they compete? What obstacles do they face? And how are they being treated?
On the life and death of Micah True, ultrarunner known as Caballo Blanco, or White Horse. Free spirit who lived in remote canyons of northern Mexico. Ran in sandals. Vanished while running in wilderness he knew so well
America has 20m table-tennis players, but only one full-time professional. Meet "the bad boy of Ping-Pong", Barney Reed. He is "a compelling character in a sport filled with stone faces". But he barely scratches a living
Latest Hemingway column from Star's archives finds the great man reporting on the arrival of craps in Toronto society. If you've ever walked past a casino table and wondered what the hell was going on, now's your chance to find out
Keeping up with Sebastian Coe, double Olympic gold medallist and the man responsible for making the London Games happen. "We Brits tend not to look at the bright side, and that's why it's good to have someone like Seb in the lead"
"Competitive running is a relentless sport. The training usually happens alone; failure is personal. When you lose, there’s usually no teammate or referee to blame. When you start to decline, your watch lets you know by how much"
Sportswriter's daughter had never shown much interest in his area of expertise. Then, unaccountably, she developed an interest in NASCAR, one of the few sports her father knew virtually nothing about. Eh? Classic, charming Posnanski
More fine stuff from the Star's Hemingway project. "Toronto women were present at prizefights for the first time last Saturday night... 'My, that one was over quickly!' said one of the women back of me, with obvious disappointment'"
One August night in 2008, Marko Cheseto walked onto a plane in Nairobi bound for Alaska. He had $100 and a cross-country and track scholarship to college in Anchorage. But events soon took a tragic turn for the talented runner
Ashima Shiraishi is a petite girl with pale skin and a toothy smile. She's not just the best climber for her age in the US, her accomplishments have earned her a place among the sport's global elite. Not bad. For an 11 year old
This republished piece, from 1920, sees Hemingway observe the behaviour of Toronto's opportunistic mayor at a local boxing bout. More great stuff from the Toronto Star's new Hemingway Papers project
JDB Photos on Flickr
Bubba Watson, having a Forrest Gump moment
"That's the best part about history - we don't know what's going to happen"
