From Publishers Weekly
When French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne confessed to under-scoring a pair of Canadian figure-skaters as part of a quid pro quo deal that her country made with Russia during the 2002 Winter Olympics, she sparked the most explosive headlines the sport of ice-skating had seen since the Harding-Kerrigan fiasco. The event was extensively reported in the U.S. media, but in her first book Goodwin provides the most comprehensively researched and well told account of it so far. An Emmy Award-winning writer and producer who covers figure skating for ABC, Goodwin has used her access to athletes, judges and coaches to provide readers with a backstage view of the scandal. She chronicles the private moments of the three skating couples involved in the controversy—Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze; Canadians Jamie Salé and David Pelletier; and Chinese Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo—following them from their humble beginnings on the frozen lakes of the Northern Caucasus, the training centers of rural Quebec and the frigid outdoor rinks of industrial Harbin. Although Goodwin covers all the ins and outs of the French-Russian bargain, her research allows her to go beyond the judging scandal to include the stories of how Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were villainized by the U.S. press; how Shen’s father was impoverished by the see-sawing internal politics of China and how Pelletier turned down his first opportunity to be Salé’s skating partner. The 2002 competition showcased "the greatest collection of talent ever assembled on a single night in pair skating," Goodwin writes. Her book lets readers see it from all the angles. 16 pages of b&w photos. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Goodwin's book grew out of the judging scandal that marred the 2002 Winter Olympics. Her focus is pair figure skating, and the controversy generated by the scoring of the "second mark," the one awarded for artistic presentation. Using artistry as her starting point, the author traces the careers of the six athletes vying for Olympic gold that year, the Chinese, Russian, and Canadian pairs. Looking at the differing environments that produced these champions, she depicts and contrasts each skater's background, training, and level and type of national support received. She explains how the countries, via their coaches, differed both in their approach to the sport and in their interpretation of artistic expression. Drawing from a year and a half of interviews with the athletes, their families, and coaches, Goodwin presents an honest and intimate portrait of the skaters, describing the physical, emotional, and financial sacrifices made in their quest for Olympic honors. The author is a good storyteller, able to evoke a range of emotions from sympathy and admiration to incredulity and suspense. What will linger long after the reading, however, is her effective personification of "courage" and "corruption" and how the perfidy of several of the adults involved contrasted with the integrity of the young athletes who, under pressure, displayed a grace beyond their years.–Dori DeSpain, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Pairs figure skating is one of the most popular events on the Olympic agenda. Goodwin, a veteran Emmy-winning producer for ABC Sports, takes readers behind the scenes of the controversial 2002 Olympic pairs competition, which was tainted by a judging scandal. She exposes the quid-pro-quo system that has ruled world-class skating for many decades, and in the end, the whole affair seems as pathetic and embarrassing as a brokered prom-queen election--except the stakes are much higher: a lifetime of work just to make it to the Olympics wasted by petty deal making among dilettante judges. What is most memorable here are Goodwin's portraits of the three skating pairs affected by the scandal: the Canadians, the Chinese, and the Russians. By focusing her story on these six fascinating individuals, Goodwin turns what might have been just another recounting of corruption in athletics into a gripping potboiler with three engaging plot lines leading to a dramatic finale. Entertaining and enlightening reading. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Peggy Fleming From the first page of The Second Mark, I was hooked. Reading this book brought me right back into the Salt Lake arena for the drama that unfolded. I was riveted by the story of these six remarkable athletes on their journey to the Olympics, even though I already knew much of their history. Joy Goodwin is an extraordinary reporter and a great storyteller, and The Second Mark is a terrific book. It's a must-read for people who love the sport, but it's also a must-read for anyone who loves a great story.

Dick Button Joy Goodwin has written an intelligent, insightful, informative, and entertaining book. It's more than just skating -- it's a look inside three cultures. The Second Mark is first-rate and the best sports book I've read in years.

Christine Brennan USA Today columnist, author of Inside Edge and Edge of Glory We all remember the stunning story of the pairs figure skating scandal that rocked the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. Now, for the first time ever, we have been given the opportunity to read the riveting story of the six remarkable athletes whose lives were forever altered by that event. Joy Goodwin has written a superb book, filled with graceful insights, passionate recollections, and intelligent analysis of an Olympic event that never will be forgotten. The scores are in for The Second Mark: 6.0s across the board.

Review
Christine Brennan USA Today columnist, author of Inside Edge and Edge of Glory We all remember the stunning story of the pairs figure skating scandal that rocked the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. Now, for the first time ever, we have been given the opportunity to read the riveting story of the six remarkable athletes whose lives were forever altered by that event. Joy Goodwin has written a superb book, filled with graceful insights, passionate recollections, and intelligent analysis of an Olympic event that never will be forgotten. The scores are in for The Second Mark: 6.0s across the board.

Review
Christine Brennan USA Today columnist, author of Inside Edge and Edge of Glory We all remember the stunning story of the pairs figure skating scandal that rocked the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. Now, for the first time ever, we have been given the opportunity to read the riveting story of the six remarkable athletes whose lives were forever altered by that event. Joy Goodwin has written a superb book, filled with graceful insights, passionate recollections, and intelligent analysis of an Olympic event that never will be forgotten. The scores are in for The Second Mark: 6.0s across the board.

Book Description
It was billed as the greatest event in the history of pair skating: three of the best teams of all time battling for Olympic gold on one night in Salt Lake City. Technical ability was approximately equal. It was the artistic merit score that would decide the gold medal -- the second mark. Representing Canada, China, and Russia, the three pairs illuminated their distinct cultures. On the second mark, whose culture would triumph? Would it be the beauty of the Russians' ballet on ice, the thrill of the Chinese pair's heart-stopping acrobatics, or the Canadians' passionate connection with the audience? In a down-to-the-wire nail-biter, the difference between gold and silver came down to the vote of a single judge. Hours later, a bombshell: the confession of a French judge unleashed a worldwide debate -- and ultimately produced an unprecedented duplicate gold medal. The Second Mark reveals what an athlete really goes through to become the best in the world, through the riveting stories of unforgettable people. We meet Yelena Berezhnaya of Russia, who survives emergency brain surgery after a near-fatal training accident and makes it back to the Olympics in less than two years. We meet Zhao Hongbo, a young boy skating in subzero weather in remotest China, who will fulfill his coach's twenty-year dream of catching up to the West. And we meet two Canadians, a barista and a concession stand worker, who had almost quit the sport before deciding to give it one last try -- and becoming world champions. Exhaustively researched by a skating insider, The Second Mark takes readers deep into the world of the Olympic athlete, illuminating the fascinating differences between East and West. From the frozen fields of China to the secret corridors of the old Soviet sports system, from a tiny farm village in remotest Quebec to the judges' backstage world, The Second Mark tells the compelling human stories behind one of the most controversial nights in Olympic history.

About the Author
Joy Goodwin is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer. Since 1999, she has covered figure skating for ABC Sports. She holds a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University. The Second Mark is her first book. She lives in New York City.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It was billed as the greatest event in the history of pair skating: three of the best teams of all time battling for Olympic gold one night in Salt Lake City. Technical ability was approximately equal. It was the artistic merit score that would decide the gold medal - the second mark.

In a down-to-the-wire nail-biter, the difference between gold and silver came down to the vote of a single judge. Hours later, a bombshell: the confession of a French judge unleashed a worldwide debate - and ultimately produced an unprecedented duplicate gold medal.

The Second Mark reveals what an athlete really goes through to become the best in the world, through the riveting stories of unforgettable people. We meet Yelena Berezhnaya of Russia, who survives emergency brain surgery after a near-fatal training accident and makes it back to the Olympics in less than two years. We meet Zhao Hongbo, a young boy skating in subzero weather in remotest China, who will fulfill his coach's twenty-year dream of catching up to the West. And we meet two Canadians, a barista and a concession stand worker, who had almost quit the sport before deciding to give it one last try - and becoming world champions.

FROM THE CRITICS

Christopher Caldwell - The New York Times

Goodwin's own romance with pairs skating pays the reader constant rewards. It is not just her attentiveness to the sport's sensual beauty -- the wind skaters create as they pass, the sight of a lithe woman ''flying above her partner's head in a gauzy dress,'' the way you can hear the quality of a skater's technique in the sound of his blades tearing the ice. There is also the empathy she brings to the skaters themselves … The Second Mark can be classed among the rare sportswriting that, with one eye fixed on court or field or rink, manages to tell us something important about the human spirit.

Bob Ivry - The Washington Post

Even though you might know how the competition ended (with the unprecedented award of two gold medals), you'll bite your fingernails anyway. Goodwin allows you to get to know these folks so well that you don't want to see any of them fail. The story's generous humanity suggests the true Olympic spirit: We root for every team to do its best. We want them all to win.

Library Journal

Goodwin has written a fascinating account of the fixed judging of the 2002 Olympic pairs skating event in Salt Lake City. Focusing on the second set of judges' marks (given for artistry), the book outlines the details of the secret trade-off between French and Russian officials to place the Russian pair skaters and the French ice dancers first in their respective events. But this is more than an expose; it is a rich collective biography of all six skaters in the top three competing pairs-from Russia, China, and Canada. Goodwin contrasts their training techniques, home lives, and the deeply different attitudes toward sports in these three nations. Goodwin has obviously interviewed these skaters at great length, and she has communicated with sympathy and drama their personal responses to the life of elite athletic training. The result is a powerful and valuable book about high-profile athletes and how they live their daily lives within very different, and often difficult, circumstances. For all public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/03.]-Bonnie Collier, Yale Law Lib., New Haven, CT Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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