What do you think?
Rate this book
Tumble turns: An autobiography
Shane Gould blazed her way into sporting history, breaking eleven world swimming records and winning five Olympic medals in Munich in 1972, yet her career lasted just three years. At 13, she became a household name; at 16, she retired and almost disappeared.
From her beginnings as a swimming prodigy up to the present, Tumble Turns is the moving and courageous story of Shane's attempt to forge a normal life for herself and her family, far away from the trappings and temptations of sporting superstardom. It's the story of her tumble turns, her twists and changes of direction - from her swimming triumphs and the struggles of raising her children in the Western Australian bush, to marriage breakdown and her recent return to the media spotlight.
It has taken Shane nearly 30 years to understand what her remarkable achievements have given her in personal terms, as well as the enormous cost to her and those close to her. Tumble Turns tells the story of those years and how her extraordinary experiences have contributed both to her acceptance of that young swimming phenomenon called Shane Gould, and of the woman she has become.
From her beginnings as a swimming prodigy up to the present, Tumble Turns is the moving and courageous story of Shane's attempt to forge a normal life for herself and her family, far away from the trappings and temptations of sporting superstardom. It's the story of her tumble turns, her twists and changes of direction - from her swimming triumphs and the struggles of raising her children in the Western Australian bush, to marriage breakdown and her recent return to the media spotlight.
It has taken Shane nearly 30 years to understand what her remarkable achievements have given her in personal terms, as well as the enormous cost to her and those close to her. Tumble Turns tells the story of those years and how her extraordinary experiences have contributed both to her acceptance of that young swimming phenomenon called Shane Gould, and of the woman she has become.
280 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1999
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 18, 2012
Shane Gould, who at 15 held every womens' freestyle record and went on to win five medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics, was an inspiration to young Australians. I found a copy of her autobiography and read the relevant bits. Pure Gold - or Gould - for my research, but what a story.
You'd think that global fame and national adulation would set a teenager up for life. Shane Gould certainly wasn't stupid or awkward with the media and VIPs, but after the Olympics she gave up her career and basically ran away from everything. Swimming, university, family, her home. It took a few years, but she became a farmer's wife in a dry land, no electricity, ploughing with horses, Olympic medals in a box at the bottom of the wardrobe.
She makes her point that psychological support for young elite athletes was non-existent forty years ago. At least in Australia. We depended on native talent to win medals and a few drinks afterwards with your team mates would see you right.
A bit like winning the lottery or possessing superpowers. We might fantasise that we'd be set for life. We'd have rich lives of happiness and fulfilment. But it turns out not to be that way, or at least very rarely. Usually the money or the talent or the fame evaporates and takes the person along with it, remote from friends and family, living an empty charade and a trail of broken relationships and sad memories.
Shane Gould eventually walks away from her farmer when the marriage becomes little more than a front for the children's sake. She gets back into sports as a commentator, an official, an inspirational speaker. She becomes a legend, she finds the closure and the understanding she missed back in the Seventies, and she finds a contentment and a happiness.
And love. She remarried five years ago and finally seems to be living the life she really wanted.
A bit like a novel, really - we meet the character, we see them face disaster and despair, reach a crisis and win through. In Shane Gould's case, it takes twenty-five years.
Looking at it another way, i see the old saw, "Too soon old, too late schmart." If only we had the wisdom of sixty at sixteen!
You'd think that global fame and national adulation would set a teenager up for life. Shane Gould certainly wasn't stupid or awkward with the media and VIPs, but after the Olympics she gave up her career and basically ran away from everything. Swimming, university, family, her home. It took a few years, but she became a farmer's wife in a dry land, no electricity, ploughing with horses, Olympic medals in a box at the bottom of the wardrobe.
She makes her point that psychological support for young elite athletes was non-existent forty years ago. At least in Australia. We depended on native talent to win medals and a few drinks afterwards with your team mates would see you right.
A bit like winning the lottery or possessing superpowers. We might fantasise that we'd be set for life. We'd have rich lives of happiness and fulfilment. But it turns out not to be that way, or at least very rarely. Usually the money or the talent or the fame evaporates and takes the person along with it, remote from friends and family, living an empty charade and a trail of broken relationships and sad memories.
Shane Gould eventually walks away from her farmer when the marriage becomes little more than a front for the children's sake. She gets back into sports as a commentator, an official, an inspirational speaker. She becomes a legend, she finds the closure and the understanding she missed back in the Seventies, and she finds a contentment and a happiness.
And love. She remarried five years ago and finally seems to be living the life she really wanted.
A bit like a novel, really - we meet the character, we see them face disaster and despair, reach a crisis and win through. In Shane Gould's case, it takes twenty-five years.
Looking at it another way, i see the old saw, "Too soon old, too late schmart." If only we had the wisdom of sixty at sixteen!
April 14, 2013
Shane Gould was one of my childhood idols, so I was looking forward to finding out a bit more about her. I always found it interesting that she turned her back on fame at such a young age and seemed to completely drop out of circulation until she started making appearances round about the time of the Sydney Olympics in 2000. This book sheds light on those missing years when she and her husband and four children lived a very simple lifestyle in a Western Australian community. They were not easy years and Shane shares her heart about her difficult marriage and her eventual split from her husband. There is no bitterness though, and she shares the lessons she has learned about love and faith along the way. An interesting read for anyone who has ever wondered what became of the teenager who took the swimming world by storm at the Munich Olympics.
August 27, 2016
Amazing. A book by a sports person where ego does not rule. Great. Also nice to have something that does not appear to have been written to a common formulae
December 16, 2018
I read the first edition (a re-read); apparently there is an updated edition. At the time of writing this Shane was preparing for her involvement in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Shane Gould was somewhat a childhood hero to me (though I hate the word ‘hero’ when applied to sportspeople! To me heros rescue people from burning buildings....)
I had followed her brief swimming career as a teenager (she is one tear older than me) and in recent years took a keen interest in her contribution to cultural history through a shared passion for the role public swimming pools play in Australian culture.
Then Shane appeared on, and won, the third season of Australian Survivor. Anyone who has doubts about “how she did it” needs to read this book! Talk about a story of resilience and the acquisition of the mental and physical skills needed to weave your way through a communal experience and emerge a champion once again!
Recommended!
Shane Gould was somewhat a childhood hero to me (though I hate the word ‘hero’ when applied to sportspeople! To me heros rescue people from burning buildings....)
I had followed her brief swimming career as a teenager (she is one tear older than me) and in recent years took a keen interest in her contribution to cultural history through a shared passion for the role public swimming pools play in Australian culture.
Then Shane appeared on, and won, the third season of Australian Survivor. Anyone who has doubts about “how she did it” needs to read this book! Talk about a story of resilience and the acquisition of the mental and physical skills needed to weave your way through a communal experience and emerge a champion once again!
Recommended!
October 22, 2021
I think this is my third reading. Never disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews