Author D. Todd Coffin at Bowdoin’s Historic Whittier Field stadium and site of the legendary 1972 Olympic team training camp. Submitted photo
“Olympians in Vacationland,” a new book written by Maine author D. Todd Coffin marking the 50th anniversary of the legendary Olympic training camp held at Bowdoin College in 1972, has been released by Midcoast Publishing.
“Olympians in Vacationland” shares an intimate view of America’s best in action — Frank Shorter, Steve Prefontaine, Dave Wottle, Rod Milburn and Maine-native Jeff Bannister, among many others. The retrospective commemorates the ten-day training camp attended by 54 US track and field Olympians just before their departure for the Olympic Games in Munich. Fans from across the region streamed into Brunswick to collect autographs, take snapshots, and marvel at the athletes from trackside bleachers in Bowdoin’s Whittier Field stadium.
A native of Bath and lifelong runner, Coffin began a quest in 2014 to discover the origins of the training camp and explore the paths that led each of the athletes to Maine and the Munich Olympics. “Olympians in Vacationland” celebrates the accomplishments of the athletes who were among the last amateurs of their sport and helped ignite the Running Boom of the 1970s.
To learn more, visit www.olympians1972.com.
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