Biological Destiny

For some time now it has been apparent to me that if you have a marathon, for example, someone from Kenya is more likely to win it than someone from an Eskimo village in Alaska. Blacks predominate on NBA teams for a reason beyond culture. Turns out highly successful athletes are subjected to some of the most rigorous testing possible. Lance Armstrong, for example, has a heart 20% larger than normal, produces 1/3rd less lactic acid during exercise, and delivers oxygen to his legs at a higher rate than almost anyone alive. These studies and others suggest that in order to be a truly dominate athlete, one must be a genetic freak. Armstrong, it turns out, does not have one physical factor which distinguishes him from the rest of us, but in fact he has several extraordianry traits which exist in only a few hundred human beings. The odds of all these things being consolidated in one body are probably one in a billion.

Other examples? Michael Phelps, is an Olympic champion swimmer and propels himself through the water with feet that are truly like flippers. They are not only large (size 14), but also outrageously flexible. He can lie down flat on his back, legs outstretched and touch the tips of his toes to the floor. Mia Hamm, the soccer star, in some tests of her famous stamina, was found to produce less than one liter of sweat an hour--25-50% less than normal.

How long will it be before parents begin to test their youngsters to see how suited for the sport they are pushing them toward?