Showjumper Nick Skelton’s autobiography Only Falls and Horses has sold out at bookseller Abebooks after his gold medal win in Rio on Friday.
Skelton, 58, became Britain’s oldest Olympic medallist since 1908 last week, winning the individual showjumping gold on his horse, Big Star. The rider had been forced to retire after breaking his neck in 2000, but returned to the sport two years later. In 2011, he had a hip replacement and in 2012 was part of the squad that won a gold in the team showjumping event at the London Olympics.
Used books marketplace Abebooks.co.uk reported that Skelton’s autobiography was its top search term on Friday and Saturday following his win, and that all copies available on the site have now been sold. On Amazon, copies are selling for more than £75. The out-of-print memoir was published in 2001 by small publishing firm Greenwater, which has since been dissolved.
“I strongly urge someone to update and republish this book as Skelton is a larger-than-life character,” said Abebooks’s Richard Davies. “The Rio 2016 Olympics appeared to have zero effect on bookselling until a 58-year-old from Warwickshire won a gold medal for Great Britain ... Clearly there is an interest in his remarkable life and career.”
