Recently I️ read The Sports Gene by David Epstein, a sports science writer. It was just a huge research project/book on what determines athletic greatness. There was a lot of information, but I️ think it all comes down to the fact that genes are really helpful in determining your athletic success, but your environment and your lifestyle needs can vastly change things.
There were chapters on height, speed for sprinting, why Australia is randomly so good at a lot of Olympic sports, endurance running, what happens when your heart is enlarged, the genetics of being hard-working, your genetics based on race, hemoglobin/red blood cell content and how if one little TINY base pair is different, your life can be drastically different. I️ love that David clearly did his research. He talked to plenty of other researchers and even directly to the random people he mentioned in the book. This was a massive undertaking and I’m really glad that I️ read it because it’s given me a new perspective into my athletic past and how it can shape my future (and also how I️ can apply this to sports medicine). I’ll give an example about myself.
I️ was bored at work today and decided I️ wanted to check my wingspan compared to my height, because I️ had read that great basketball players often have immensely longer wingspans than their heights. And I️ played water polo, which is honestly quite similar to basketball, and having long arms DEFINITELY helps if you’re a goalkeeper, first off, but also for blocking and defending. Turns out my wingspan is 3 inches longer than my height! Which I️ thought was interesting. It made me wonder what the rest of my family is like, especially since my dad played basketball for years and both my sisters also played water polo. So that’ll be something for when everyone is home for the holidays. And apparently, people with 3-inch longer wingspans than their height are the best for rock climbing, which is something I’ve been thinking about doing a lot lately. I think I’ll get after that when I get home in less than a week!
Then, I️ also discovered something interesting — people with narrow hips, longer legs and simply a slimmer body are often suited for running, like a lot of Jamaicans are, apparently. People who are good at swimming tend to have wider pelvises and longer torsos…and my older sister has quite a long torso compared to her legs, whereas I️ think I’m more “proportional”. And she was faster than me by quite a bit, and while I️ don’t think either of us worked that hard during swim season, I️ just couldn’t get there. Perhaps it was that I️ simply didn’t care, and that if I️ tried I️ could have been better, but could our genetics have played a part? In the 50-yd sprint, she’d beat me by like 1–2 seconds consistently, I️ just don’t think I️ ever broke 27. Of course, I’ll never be totally sure. It could have to do with the fact that she’s the first born. As well, I’m quite heftier, I️ believe my rib cage is actually just larger than hers, and I️ always weighed a good 15 pounds more, probably 25–30 pounds more now. It’s interesting how some soccer players can be so incredibly fast with tons of muscle on them, yet some thinner ones who are incredibly fast would definitely be slowed if they put too much weight on…it’s all about finding a perfect balance for each person, so maybe she had an advantage being lighter, who knows.
Also, different athletes tend to have different length forearms, and different length forearms are better for specific sports. Apparently tennis players’ racket arms are just a bit longer than their non-racket arm (and they grow this way since a lot of them start when they’re young, it’s just how bone growth works), which gives them advantages in leverage and power — same for throwing sport athletes, I️ think. Weightlifters and wrestlers would do better with shorter arms so that they can lift more, as their lever arm is shorter so they need less muscle work to overcome any sort of resistance. So I️’m curious if this means anything for me, and if anything, would it even matter? I’m still going to weightlift or play a throwing sport if I️ want to. I’m not going pro so it’s not a massive deal, in the sense that I’m not in high demand to play something that I may be “best suited” for.
I️ read about why athletes shouldn’t be allowed or even want to genetically test themselves too much. I️n the end, the things they’re finding now are too small to even remotely effect anyone enough. Even if you just naturally have a high red blood cell count, which = more hemoglobin, there could be no effect, or there could be a huge effect. Of course you still should test for sickle cell anemia and HCM, but the things that are optional — athletes should stay away from them because it can give them a sense of insecurity and fear.
It’s given me a lot to think about in regards to all of the athletes I’ve worked with. Were there some who were simply BORN to play the sport they did? Yes. Were there some who worked so hard they got to where they were, even if they weren’t a “great fit” physically/genetically? Of course. Sometimes your genes might help you choose which sport you go into, I️ mean if you’re 7 feet tall, you should probably play basketball or ultimate frisbee. Looking back, those athletes who were absolute workhorses and put their heart and soul out there all the time— if the ones who were very genetically blessed did anything near that, it would be a world of difference. And some people had both, and that’s what pushes you the furthest. I read this book all because Michael Owen’s chapter in Soccer Men referenced this, that the mental toughness of some athletes can push you farther than you think.
What separates elite athletes from the rest of the world, then? Is it the genetics they possess, or is it the hard work they put in, and the demands placed on them outside of sport? But then, the willpower and work mentality can also be genetic. And what about the 10,000 hours rule? Is it an absolute rule, is it necessary? There’s so much left to be discovered, but of course it’s interesting to see that scientists who want to research athletes aren’t getting the funding they need. And I️ suppose I️ see why, because health of normal people (aka the majority of the population) is probably more of a pressing issue. However, I️ hope that people will continue raising questions about this, and people will always find a way to research what they really want to. This is a really interesting topic for sure, and it’s really good food for thought in terms of sports psychology as well. As I pursue a research study in grad school (I hope!!), I probably won’t directly research genetics (ok, definitely will NOT!), but I’ll probably be thinking about this sort of stuff.
