The Telegraph Book of Champions

How do you achieve sporting immortality?

How do you develop a winning mentality?

What separates the best from the rest?

While sporting greatness is for the few, there is much that the rest of us can learn from them. From the era-defining brilliance of Muhammad Ali to the tactical genius of Sir Alex Ferguson, gathered together here for the first time are the rare insights into what made some of the best sports men and women from the past century.

Drawn from the Telegraph archives, this collection of interviews, contemporary accounts and first-person articles covering everyone from Michael Phelps to Dame Ellen MacArthur, Roger Federer to Michael Schumacher, Sir Steve Redgrave to Nicole Cooke, give a rare glimpse of how these individuals conquered the world.

Through the snow, mud, ice and sun of the sporting calendar, The Telegraph Book of Champions features one hundred champions from thirty-one sports. Side by side, in this unique collection, they line up as a reminder of what it takes to be the best, why success at the very top is only for the few, and what the rest of us mere mortals can learn from them.

Martin Smith was assistant sports editor of the Telegraph for many years. He has edited previous Telegraph anthologies for Aurum on the Tour de France, Formula One, Wimbledon, horse racing and cricket letters. He lives in Bedfordshire.