Next Round: A Young Athlete's Journey to Gold [Hardcover]

Arthur Biyarslanovs journey to competitive boxing has not been easy. As a small child he fled Chechnya with his family, dodging bullets and rocket fire and fording a freezing river. As a young Muslim refugee he faced hardships and hostility in his new homes in Azerbaijan and Toronto. Soccer became his refuge, and he learned two languages by playing the game with his new friends. In Toronto, he joined a league and quickly became their star player. A broken leg left him weakened and he turned to boxing to keep his strength up. Soon it became his new love. After many hours of hard work, he started to win his bouts. And by the age of twenty the Chechen Wolf was a champion amateur boxer, winning gold for Canada, his new homeland, at the 2015 Pan Am Games. That medal earned him a shot at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeirothe next round for this talented boxer and determined survivor.Arthur Biyarslanov fled war in Chechnya as a child, ultimately coming to Canada as a refugee. Thriving on the challenge and discipline of sport, he won gold for Canada at the 2015 Pan Am Olympic Games, and a few months later qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Written from extensive interviews with Arthur and his family.[Next Round is] a good read, approximately 104 pages in total. Its got very sharp black and white pictures with a brilliant, colour photo-essay in the middle... It tells you a lot about Arthur, whos very charismatic, but also a quiet kind of guy who works extremely hard& As we all know, theres not much coverage of Canadian athletes, much less Canadian boxers, so I think this book is a brilliant, brilliant play&good on you John Spray, good on you Arthur Biyarslanov&This book is a great promotional item and a fantastic idea.

AboutNext Round: A Young Athlete's Journey to Gold

2017 Forest of Reading Golden Oak Award finalist

2017Stacked Books Monthly Giving: International Refugee Aslâ