Chasing Water

Every four years in the Olympic cycle the surge of national interest in swimming grows, and with it a desire to be captivated by its stars. This book tells the dramatic, surprising, and sometimes provocative path that Anthony Ervin has taken to become one of those captivating Olympic heroes. Not your typical sports memoir, Chasing Water also contains arresting black-and-white drawings and a graphic story extra, as well as an inventive and mercurial narrative style that morphs chapter by chapter to reflect Ervin's restless, multifaceted life.

Ervin won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games at the age of nineteen. He is an athlete branded with a slew of titles including being the first US Olympic swimmer of African American descent, along with Jewish heritage, who also grew up with Tourette's syndrome. He shocked the sporting world by retiring soon after claiming two world titles following the 2000 Olympics. Auctioning off his gold medal for charity, he set off on a part spiritual quest, part self-destructive bender that involved Zen temples, fast motorcycles, tattoo parlors, and rock 'n' roll bands. Then Ervin resurfaced in 2012 to not only make the US Olympic team twelve years after his first appearance, but to continue his career by swimming faster than ever before.

In the 2016 Rio Olympics he won two gold medals, including one in the 50-meter free, making history as the oldest individual swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.

“"On the surface, a biography about a swimmer with just one individual Olympic gold medal might seem a stretch. Anthony Ervin's story, however, transcends that shining moment in the 50-meter freestyle sprint at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when he won a relay gold. After becoming the first swimmer of African American descent to medal in Olympic swimming, Ervin auctioned off his most prized medal in order to donate to tsunami relief. He retired from competitive swimming and entered a period of self-discovery that led to some questionable decisions and lessons learned the hard way. He resurfaced in 2012 to make the US Olympic team with a personal-best time, yet finished fifth at the Games in London. Now he's training for a shot at swimming in a third Olympics this summer in Rio de Janeiro. His roller coaster ride to this point is told alternately by journalist and swim trainer Constantine Markides and by Ervin in his own revealing words." -- Christian Science Monitor , 6 Eclectic Sports Books "However one may be compelled to slap a bar code on Ervin--the Charlie Sheen of the U.S. Swim Team may even be in consideration--part of the complex context of his odyssey toward making the 2016 roster this summer comes in owning up to a new book, Chasing Water: Elegy of an Olympian , which Ervin co-writes in an interesting authorship divide with [Constantine Markides], a competitive swimmer himself." -- Los Angeles Daily News "[ Chasing Water ] intentionally shucks athlete biography conventions in exchange for a seesaw of first-person memories written like diary entries (plus some of Ervin's actual dairy entries) and third-person exposition interspersed with quotes from key characters." -- San Diego Jewish Journal "A refreshingly unexpected athlete biography void of eye-rolling, clich”

[Ervin's] story is an amazing comeback tale.-- "Huffington Post"
A celebrated Olympian recounts how he rose to the top of his sport, crashed, and found redemption. . . . This book, which tells his story through a narrative that interweaves the former gold medalist's memories with commentary by his friend and colleague Markides, reveals the extreme highs and lows that characterized Ervin's remarkable life and career. . . . The author never flinches at revealing his less-than-perfect past, and the humility he demonstrates at coming to terms with his own egotism and personal shortcomings makes the book frequently compelling. A provocative and refreshingly honest redemption memoir.-- "Kirkus Reviews"
Anthony Ervin is a lot of things. He is an open book and a closed circuit, a body fueled by a brain, an old man with a young soul. He is the American Dream. He is, once again, improbably, an Olympic champion.-- "Yahoo"
Here Ervin and swim trainer and journalist Markides combine talents to create a biography that is part first-hand narrative by Ervin, with Markides filling in the details and providing context. The formula works, pulling readers into Ervin's experience of the thrill of victory and search for meaning. . . . Featuring more depth, breadth, truth, and the effects of reckless choices than found in traditional athlete biographies, this gripping account is just in time for the gear up to the Rio 2016 Olympics. Readers will understand the psyche and life of elite athletes as never before, then cheer Ervin on in his attempt to make another Olympic team.-- "Library Journal"
Markides smartly combines his own journalistic account with a parallel narrative in which Ervin . . . explains his life and style. Some talents simply defy explanation, however, and Ervin may be in that category. . . . The story of his comeback at 31 (ancient for a swimmer) is rendered more amazing by the contrast with what went before.-- "Booklist"

Anthony Ervin is an American Olympian who resides in Los Angeles, where he continues to pursue his career as a professional swimmer, speaker, and coach. In the 2016 Rio Olympics he won two gold medals, including one in the 50-meter free, making history as the oldest individual swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.

Constantine Markides is a New York-based swim trainer and former correspondent for the international daily newspaper Cyprus Mail. He has worked with CNN's Anderson Cooper and was featured on CBC and NPR's Marketplace. His essays and fiction have been published in various magazines and journals, including Rolling Stone. A high school state champion swimmer, Markides also swam for Columbia University.

Every four years in the Olympic cycle the surge of national interest in swimming grows, and with it a desire to be captivated by its stars. This book tells the dramatic, surprising, and sometimes provocative path that Anthony Ervin has taken to become one of those captivating Olympic heroes. Not your typical sports memoir, Chasing Water also contains arresting black-and-white drawings and a graphic story extra, as well as an inventive and mercurial narrative style that morphs chapter by chapter to reflect Ervin's restless, multifaceted life. Ervin won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games at the age of nineteen. He is an athlete branded with a slew of titles including being the first US Olympic swimmer of African American descent, along with Jewish heritage, who also grew up with Tourette's syndrome. He shocked the sporting world by retiring soon after claiming two world titles following the 2000 Olympics. Auctioning off his gold medal for charity, he set off on a part spiritual quest, part self-destructive bender that involved Zen temples, fast motorcycles, tattoo parlors, and rock 'n' roll bands. Then Ervin resurfaced in 2012 to not only make the US Olympic team twelve years after his first appearance, but to continue his career by swimming faster than ever before. In the 2016 Rio Olympics he won two gold medals, including one in the 50-meter free, making history as the oldest individual swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.

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