As Good as Gold

Imagine George Plimpton. Except with real athletic ability. And hers"s a woman. And shers"s taken on a challenge that makesPaper Lionlook like a brisk game of Go Fish. Meet Kathryn Bertine, elite triathlete, former professional figure skater, and starving artist. Just as her personal and professional dreams begin to crumble in the summer of 2006, ESPN stakes her to a dream: Take two years to make the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing.As Good As Goldis the heroic, hilarious account of Bertiners"s serial exertions in the realms of triathlon, modern pentathlon, team handball, track cycling, road cycling, rowing, open water swimming, racewalking, and-fasten your seatbelts-luge. On her journey, the obstacles range from jet lag to jellyfish, flat tires to floundering relationships, repeated rejection to road rash. But, as time is running out, Bertine doesnrs"t sweat the small stuff, only the large-like scouring the globe for a tiny nation to adopt her, and pushing her body and mind as far as it will go. Maybe all the way to China. Between harrowing, often laugh-out-loud episodes of triumph and humiliation, Bertine takes short "Water Breaks" to contemplate the ins-and-outs of fan mail, failure, rehydration, nasal reconstruction, and how best to punish steroid users. Kathryn Bertine swims, runs, and rides-and writes-like a champion. InAs Good as Gold, Bertine proves she has something more valuable than an Olympic medal. Shers"s got Olympic mettle. When it comes to the human heart, she takes the gold.

Kathryn Bertine, an elite triathlete and former professional figure skater, is the author of All the Sundays Yet to Come: A Skater's Journey. She graduated from Colgate University in 1997, and holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Arizona. Her essays have appeared in numerous publications, including ESPN The Magazine, US Weekly, Her Sports+Fitness, and Inside Triathlon. She currently lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado, and Tucson, Arizona.