The Drake Relays are one of the iconic events of track and field in the United States. World and Olympic champions test their speed and stamina on the famed Blue Oval in Des Moines, Iowa, every April, and by spring 2013 they had set fourteen world records and fifty-one American records. But unlike most other top meets, this one also features college athletes from all over the country and high school athletes from across Iowa, giving them the experience of a lifetime鈥攃ompeting on the same track with the elite in their sport. This mix brings many enthusiastic spectators to the stadium and makes for an unusually close bond between fans and athletes鈥攊t鈥檚 as if 别惫别谤测辞苍别鈥檚 family is there cheering.
Pulitzer Prize鈥搘inning photographer David Peterson has been covering the Drake Relays for nearly forty years, but his love affair with the meet started earlier, when he ran on three winning relay teams there for Kansas State University. Now, drawing upon an unmatched personal archive, he offers the pictures of a lifetime spent on the Blue Oval. He captures on camera athletes of all levels in triumph and defeat, in mid-stride or leap, embracing their fans, their moms and dads, and their kids. In addition to the stars of the past, such as Carl Lewis, Suzy Favor Hamilton, and Herschel Walker, and those of the 鈥00s, like Lolo Jones and Jeremy Wariner, we see teenagers who may be the stars of the future, as well as the many athletes who will never be famous but nonetheless show themselves鈥攁nd their sport鈥攁t their best.
A beautiful celebration of the Drake Relays and the diverse sports that make up 鈥渢rack and field,鈥 this book will evoke memories and inspire runners, throwers, and jumpers everywhere.
鈥淒avid Peterson brings readers to the finish line with his astounding photographic tribute to the Drake Relays. Filled with action and drama and taken with the eye of a former college track competitor, Peterson鈥檚 images evoke the athleticism and emotion of America鈥檚 favorite track meet and bring out the track fan in all of us.鈥濃擠amian Strohmeyer, contributing photographer, Sports Illustrated
鈥淭o capture the drama and excitement of the 海角乱伦社区institution that is the Drake Relays, it takes a special photographer steeped in the lore and legend of the event and the great athletes that make it a classic. Dave Peterson, a former record-setting collegiate runner and award-winning photographer, has done that with this very personal book.鈥濃擩eff Jacobsen, staff photographer, Kansas Athletics
"If, as the great sports commentator Heywood Hale Broun has said, 鈥楽ports do not build character. They reveal it,鈥 then here鈥攊n the masterful images of David Peterson鈥攊s character revealed beautifully, powerfully, fully.鈥濃擟hris Johns, editor in chief, National Geographic
鈥淲hen storied history and glimpsed future meet on the Blue Oval every spring, they create an experience too powerful to capture鈥攜et that鈥檚 just what David Peterson has done. The Drake Relays is an extraordinary mix of performance and place, but mostly, as Peterson says鈥攚ith both evocative word and striking imagery鈥攊t鈥檚 a love affair.鈥濃擝eth Wilson, Marketing and Communications, Drake University
