The link between athletic performance and genetics is easy to spot from a mile away. Whether it be famous sibling athletes like Serena and Venus Williams, or athletes with seemingly superhuman abilities such as Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt, it is not difficult to tell that genetics may be at play in excelling at sports.
Although a popular topic in the sports medicine world, there are a few misconceptions about genetic advantages to disprove. First, genetics don’t determine if you will be good at a specific sport. There is no gene that will help you excel at, for example, rowing or tennis. Genes only give general advantages, that can be applied to many sports. Genes that can help an individual excel in athletics include:
Strength
Muscle size/muscle fiber composition (fast or slow twitch)
Anaerobic threshold - the highest sustained intensity of exercise for which measurement of oxygen uptake can account for the entire energy requirement (Pubmed)
Lung capacity
Flexibility
Endurance
As you can see, none of these are specific to a single sport. Having excellent lung capacity can help an athlete succeed in swimming, cross country, track, football, and more.
Another myth is that certain races excel at different sports. There is no scientific evidence backing these claims, and it usually stems from racist notions and bias. Many critics also tend to ignore important socioeconomic variables, including economic, political, cultural, and social factors when judging athletes.
Looking at famous “superhuman” athletes can give us a better look into how specific genetic advantages assist in exceeding in a sport. Take Michael Phelps, an American former competitive swimmer nationally regarded as the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time (garnering 28 medals over his career). But Phelps has some interesting genetic advantages. While most people’s wingspan is equal to their height, Phelps’ is 3 inches more than his height, making his strokes easier and faster. In addition, almost all athletes produce lactic acid when their aerobic system can’t create enough energy to keep performing. However, Phelps’ body only needs half to process the amount of lactic acid that his rivals would need, making him 2x more efficient at recovering.
Source: NBC
Another extraordinary athlete is Simone Biles. Biles is an American artistic gymnast, garnering 7 Olympic medals and tying with another famous gymnast Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Biles’ stature of 4 foot 8 inches gives her incredible advantages as a gymnast. She is able to do more tricks in the air, and her center of gravity is also lower, which makes it harder for her to lose balance and fall.
Source: ESPN
The final athlete is Spanish road racing cyclist, Miguel Induráin. Induráin won 5 Tours de France consecutively, from the years 1991 to 1995. While the average human lung capacity is measured at 6 liters, Induráin has an impressive lung capacity of 7.8 liters. In addition to his amazing lung capacity, his heartland blood transports 7 liters of oxygen throughout his body per minute (compared to 3 to 4 liters for the average person).
Source: Wikipedia
Although these genetic advantages certainly help these athletes and others to exceed in their sports, it’s critical to understand that other factors are just as if not more important than genes. Even with Phelps’ extreme genetic advantage, he trained for 6 hours a day, 6 days a week to achieve his accomplishments. Nutrition, motivation, and equipment are all important factors that go into making an athlete. Even if you don’t have any genetic advantages, you can still become an amazing athlete if you focus on these three factors.
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