[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-129542-en":3,"doc-seo-129542-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":11,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":26,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},129542,137451207643,"Noah","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2",1,"Story & Novel","My Double Life - Mark Foster","A personal narrative centered on Mark Foster’s contrasting worlds as both a prominent swimmer and a public media figure. Through chapters covering formative experiences, pressures of expectation, and pivotal competitions, the story explores how secrecy, insecurity, and mental barriers shaped his approach to success. It also highlights major Olympic moments and behind-the-scenes connections that reveal vulnerability, empathy, and the craft of storytelling in sport.","[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nTo my family – Mum, Dad and my sisters Katy and Claire – and to  \nVince  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nCONTENTS  \nForeword by Clare Balding  \n1  Beer and chocolate  \n2  Phwoarrrrr  \n3  Millfield  \n4  Fifteen and fast  \n5 What will the neighbours say?  \n6  Seoul to Soul  \n7 The driver  \n8  Pretty cool  \n9  Catherine  \n10 Very amateur, a little professional  \n11 All I remember is a door closing  \n12 Branded  \n13 Thirty something  \n14 Tainted love  \n15 Strictly speaking  \n16 Aunty  \n17 A chip off the old block  \n18 Hello, world  \n19 Fun and games  \nList of images  \nAcknowledgements  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nForeword  \nIn my eyes, Mark is the perfect man – charming, kind, funny, generous, handsome and always willing to help. He walks into any room and everyone turns to look, and yet he is blissfully unaware of his presence. Taller than anyone else, he has a way of standing with his legs wide apart that means he brings his gaze down a couple of inches, meaning you don’t have to crick your neck to talk to him. It’s the little things that make you aware of his consideration for others.  \nI did not realise, until I read this book, that Mark had not always been so well behaved. His expulsion from two schools and his regular run-ins with authority betray an inner angst borne of confusion, shame and insecurity. In the chapter ‘What will the neighbours say?’ he writes: ‘Without really being aware of it, I liked my secrets and I liked doing my own thing, challenging things in my head, playing up when I felt the pressure of expectation or rules pushing against me.’  \nHe was a difficult young man and it’s not surprising in a context where he knew that being himself was not an option.  \nI knew Mark as a swimmer from when he went to his first Olympic Games in 1988, but I knew him better after I started working for the BBC in the mid-90s. By the time he carried the flag for Team GB in Beijing in 2008, I was presenting for both radio and TV, and it was my job to interview key team members like Mark. He was always polite and accommodating with the media, but he didn’t say much. I concluded there was either not a lot to say and he was not that deep a thinker, or that he didn’t feel comfortable talking about his life out of the pool. Reading this book explains the reticence. He didn’t feel comfortable opening up and I fully understand why. In the 1980s and 1990s, the sporting world was not welcoming to anyone who did not conform to the heterosexual rules.  \nIt’s amazing to me that he managed to achieve all he did, winning a bucketful of medals at major championships, and yet I’ve always wondered whether something sub-conscious held him back on the Olympic stage. Top coaches are always talking about marginal gains and the tiny things that go together to improve performance. What about marginal barriers? Or even major mental barriers? They can equally prevent top performance.  \nIt also makes perfect sense that Mark is such a good pundit. He understands success, but he also understands the vulnerability of a top-class sportsman. He knows what it is like to line up under pressure, to know that you are capable of winning a gold medal and for things to not work out.  \nAhead of the London Olympics in 2012, the BBC decided to have a presentation position at the Aquatics Centre as the swimming was going tobe a key part of the evening schedule for the first week or so of the Games. I was chosen as the swimming reporter and, three years ahead of the Olympics, I started to cover various swimming championships. Mark, who had just retired, was by my side and we were both learning the ropes together – him about working in television and me about swimming.  \nTo say we hit it off is an understatement. We got along so well it was as if we’d known each other our whole lives. We sat alongside each other atthe 2010 Commonwealth Games, at the World Championships and the World Short Course Championships, and then in Lon","cbCaibLZgO7UmM1e","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibLZgO7UmM1e","pdf",17055517,273,"English","en",105,"# Contents\n## Foreword\n## 1 Beer and chocolate\n## 2 Phwoarrrrr\n## 3 Millfield\n## 4 Fifteen and fast\n## 5 What will the neighbours say?\n## 6 Seoul to Soul\n## 7 The driver\n## 8 Pretty cool\n## 9 Catherine\n## 10 Very amateur, a little professional\n## 11 All I remember is a door closing\n## 12 Branded\n## 13 Thirty something\n## 14 Tainted love\n## 15 Strictly speaking\n## 16 Aunty\n## 17 A chip off the old block\n## 18 Hello, world\n## 19 Fun and games\n## List of images\n## Acknowledgements","[{\"question\":\"What themes does the foreword emphasize about Mark Foster?\",\"answer\":\"The foreword highlights charm and generosity while also describing inner angst, secrecy, and the pressures that limited self-expression.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the foreword explain Mark’s relationship with interviews and the media?\",\"answer\":\"It suggests he was polite but reserved, and reading the book clarifies that he did not feel comfortable opening up about his life outside the pool.\"},{\"question\":\"What role does Mark play in major interview moments referenced in the foreword?\",\"answer\":\"He supports high-profile interviews behind the scenes, including helping arrange an unforgettable conversation connected to the 2012 Olympic story.\"}]","My Double Life - 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