A photo of a young girl with her back to the camera, standing in a sports hall with a football under her arm. There are other children in the background

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Children's reading lists

14 books for sports-obsessed kids

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Extracts

The Brownlee brothers: from average teens to world class triathletes

Cycling for Gold

Owen Slot is chief sports reporter on The Times. He has three times been named Sports Feature Writer of the Year and three times Sports News Reporter of the Year. 
 
He will be reporting on the London 2012 Olympics and 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Sam has discovered a talent no-one knew he had . . . 
 
Sam is the fastest boy on his paper delivery round - and under suspicion for being too speedy. 
But when Sam's boss spots his talent for cycling, he also sees an opportunity. 
 
And so years of rigorous training begin as Sam prepares to race in the Olympic Velodrome. Can Sam handle the expectation, now his skills have been recognised? 
 
 
**From an award-winning chief sports reporter for The Times. Owen will be reporting on the Olympics for The Times, lending even more authority as the author of this series in the lead-up to the Games. 
** In addition to the success of Team GB's cyclists, the Velodrome is one of the most iconic Olympic buildings for London 2012. Cycling for Gold features non-fiction facts and figures woven into an inspiring fictional story.

Running for Gold

Everyone knows Danny Powell was born to run. 
But no one knows Danny dreams of beating the fastest man on the planet. 
 
Until one day Danny accidentally lets it slip, and that's it. His ambition is out there - and everyone's laughing at him. Except, what if Danny could be the next 100m world champion? With the Olympic Games on his doorstep, there's only one way to find out. Will Danny's family and friends cheer him over that finishing line - and watch his dream come true? 
 
** From an award-winning chief sports reporter for The Times. Owen will be reporting on the Olympics for The Times, lending even more authority as the author of this series in the lead-up to the Games. 
** The 100m mens final is the one of the most popular Olympic events, and Running for Gold features non-fiction facts and figures woven into an inspiring fictional story.

Owen Slot

Simon Timson

Chelsea Warr

A brilliant book. A must read for anyone involved in any high performance business. The Talent Lab is a fascinating insight into the success of Team GB in London 2012 and Rio 2016. Owen Slot gets to go behind the scenes to show emphatically “what, why and how” this was achieved. There is no doubt this will be a bestseller in the UK but also worldwide as the rest try to find the secret to Team GB’s amazing turnaround.

How to Turn Potential Into World-Beating Success

Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 
 
Simon Timson and Chelsea Warr were the Performance Directors of UK Sport, tasked with the outrageous objective of delivering even greater success to Team GB and ParalympicsGB at Rio than in 2012. Something no other host nation had ever achieved in the next Games. 
 
In The Talent Lab, Owen Slot brings unique access to Team GB’s intelligence, sharing for the first time the incredible breakthroughs and insights they discovered that often extend way beyond sport. Using lessons from organisations as far afield as the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music, the NFL Draft, the Royal College of Surgeons and the SAS, it shows how talent can be discovered, created, shaped and sustained. 
 
Charting the success of the likes of Chris Hoy, Max Whitlock, Adam Peaty, Ed Clancy, Lizzy Yarnold, Dave Henson, Tom Daley, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Katherine Grainger, the Brownlee Brothers, Helen Glover, Anthony Joshua and the women’s hockey team, The Talent Lab tells just how it was done and how any team, business or individual might learn from it.

Owen Slot

Praise for The Talent Lab

A brilliant book. A must read for anyone involved in any high performance business. The Talent Lab is a fascinating insight into the success of Team GB in London 2012 and Rio 2016. Owen Slot gets to go behind ...

Books by Owen Slot

Articles featuring Owen Slot

14 books for sports-obsessed kids

The Brownlee brothers: from average teens to world class triathletes

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