The man known for his revival of the Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, is quoted as stating ‘for each individual, sport is a possible source for inner improvement’. In this book about the history of sports medicine, Vanessa Heggie demonstrates that over the twentieth century the creation of the medical discipline assisted the notion, conceptualization and creation of the athletic body. The athlete's body, by the very nature of its activity, required special treatment and regimes and Heggie presents the reader with a chronological narrative of the development of sports medicine mainly in the UK, while acknowledging its international dimension in its relationship with professional sport. The book will appeal to readers who are interested in the history of medicine, science and sports history.

The first part of the book focuses on the diffuse communities that combined to construct a loose notion of sports medicine from the turn of the century to the late 1920s. Heggie points out that there were no established organizations, yet the practices of coaches, athletes, scientists and doctors combined with the understandings of what constituted a healthy lifestyle. She argues that the existence of sports medicine before official organizations were established was in the field of prevention or policing, through fitness testing, screening and regulations against the use of performance-enhancing substances. Much of this control was evident in sports deemed dangerous or those requiring endurance, such as the marathon. In 1928, sports medicine gained further impetus with the establishment of international associations in Europe, and even the British Olympic Association appointed an official Medical Officer. Between 1928 and 1952 sports medicine became further established. Heggie ascribes this to a number of contributing factors, including investment in areas of medical expertise such as rehabilitation; concerns with the nation's health, coupled with the consequent development of organizations devoted to sport and fitness; and growing international pressure to compete in sport at the highest level. In addition, she argues that the athlete's body underwent a conceptual change from the early part of the century to the 1950s – it was altered in that it was no longer possible for a healthy adult to compete at an international level without specialist training and regimes. Sports medicine also developed further, becoming more established and, at the same time, more concentrated on the athlete's body, as we see in Chapter 4. Heggie contends that during the period from 1953 to 1970, sports medicine concentrated principally on the athletic body and ignored fitness and sport for the majority. She goes on to argue that the athletic body continued to be policed and constructed mainly through the controls placed on practices which might improve results, such as doping, gender testing and, to a much lesser extent, training at altitude. This concentration on the elite athlete was refocused somewhat in the 1970s and 1980s and the book examines the awakening interest in sport and fitness for the majority and the challenges that were presented to specialists in sports medicine as they juggled the notion of ‘Sport for All’ with their interest and scientific investment in elite athletes. The book concludes with a chapter which notes the established locus of sports medicine within medical practice, for both the elite athlete and the leisured person concerned with fitness, yet reminds the reader that the professional athlete constructed through nutritional regimes, medical treatment and scientific training is not necessarily a representative of a healthy individual.

The book is well researched and nicely paced; however, some of the terms that are deployed throughout the book are limiting. Throughout the book, Heggie refers to athletic bodies as ‘normal’, ‘abnormal’ and ‘supernormal’. Although there is some effort to make sense of what she means by ‘normal’ I found the concept narrow and ahistorical. After all, the idea of ‘normality’ is not one that sits comfortably with many historians, although the medical profession may find the term acceptable, which is perhaps an explanation for its use. The concept of gender was also not treated with sufficient depth, despite a few details surrounding gender testing and a mention of air travel in relation to women's menstrual cycles in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. Women are notably absent, which is a rather striking omission given the time period that the book covers. The early twentieth century was a period when women made great strides in athletic endeavour, finally being allowed to participate in the Olympic marathon in the 1980s. The rise of women's participation in elite sport would have fitted in well with the changing nature of the athletic body, as conceptualized throughout the book.

Despite these small criticisms, Heggie presents a convincing argument about the reconceptualization of the athletic body throughout the twentieth century, which shifts the focus away from the establishment of medical committees and sporting organizations, which is a refreshing perspective. She also questions the assertion of de Coubertin and others regarding the ‘inner improvement’ that sport supposedly provides.