Enriching Education: Who Was?

 With the 2020 Summer Olympics finally starting this July, anticipation for the world’s greatest sporting event has never been higher. Who Was?, the #1 New York Times bestselling children’s’ history and biography series with over 50 million books in print, is the perfect way for young fans to learn the history behind the achievements  they will witness, finding trivia and bold illustrations along the way. From the Summer and Paralympic games to athletes like Kobe Bryant and Jesse Owens, here are 6 Olympic facts from Who Was? titles for every sports fan!

1. An Olympic Swimmer went on to play Tarzan: Johnny Weissmuller won his first gold medal at the 1924 Paris games, setting a world record in the 100-meter race. He would win two more golds before going on to play Tarzan in 12 movies!
2. Diving into the ocean: In the 1912 Olympics, women weren’t allowed to dive in public indoor pools, so 14-year-old New Yorker Aileen Riggin had to get to the beach for high tide in order to become the then-youngest ever gold medal winner!
3. Jesse Owens was the first black captain in the Big Ten: Olympic runner Jesse Owens won the 100-yard dash, the 220-yard race, and the long jump at the 1934 Big Ten Conference as a freshman at Ohio State. Before his second season, he was named captain of the Ohio State team, and was the first black person to earn that honor for any sport in the Big Ten.
4. The Paralympic Games were started for wounded WWII soldiers: Dr. Ludwig Guttmann started the Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed in 1948, which was a sports competition between hospitals for wounded troops in England. The date was chosen with care – July 29, the same day as the opening ceremony of the nearby Olympics. Already, Guttmann imagined an Olympics for people with disabilities.
5. The Evolution of Wheelchairs: The first racing wheelchairs weighed 50 pounds or more. Today’s racing chairs, long and low to the ground, weight as little as 15 pounds and go faster than 20 miles per hour on level track.
6. Kobe Bryant, Early to Rise: At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kobe Bryant was the oldest member of the US men’s basketball team. Some critics thought he would hurt the team with his “me first” attitude, but he was often first in the gym, completing two workouts before the rest of the team showed up. Dwayne Wade would later say, “That’s when I knew he was a different beast. His example inspired me and the other members of the team.”

 

About Who Was?

The Who Was? book series began in 2002 with the publication of just four books. Since then, it has evolved into a brand encompassing over 250 titles across paperbacks, board books, graphic novels, educational workbooks, a Daytime Emmy-winning Netflix original series, and more. With more than 50 million books in print worldwide, it’s now the #1 nonfiction series for middle-grade readers; every 13 seconds, a Who HQ book is sold. For more information about the series, including a list of titles, visit www.whohq.com.

 

 

Olympic-Themed Titles

WHAT ARE THE SUMMER OLYMPICS?

Penguin Workshop | Paperback | 9780448488349 | $5.99

AVAILABLE NOW | Ages 8-12

 

WHAT ARE THE PARALYMPIC GAMES?

Penguin Workshop | Paperback | 9781524792626| $5.99

AVAILABLE NOW | Ages 8-12

 

WHO WAS KOBE BRYANT?

Penguin Workshop | Paperback | 9780593225707 | $4.99

AVAILABLE NOW | Ages 8-12

 

WHO WAS JESSE OWENS?

Penguin Workshop | Paperback | 9780448483078| $5.99

AVAILABLE NOW | Ages 8-12

 

 

About Penguin Random House

Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, is dedicated to its mission of nourishing a universal passion for reading by connecting authors and their writing with readers everywhere. The company, which employs more than 10,000 people globally, was formed on July 1, 2013, by Bertelsmann and Pearson. As of April 1, 2020, Bertelsmann is full owner of the company. With more than 300 imprints and brands on six continents, Penguin Random House comprises adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print and digital English- German- and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20 countries worldwide. With over 15,000 new titles, and more than 600 million print, audio and eBooks sold annually, Penguin Random House’s publishing lists include more than 80 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors.