There are a lot of factors that go into greatness, many of which are not obvious. As the Olympics come to a close, we revisit a 2018 episode in which top athletes from a variety of sports tell us how they made it, and what they sacrificed.
- SOURCES:
- Lance Armstrong, former professional cyclist.
- David Canton, director of African American studies and professor of history at the University of Florida.
- David Epstein, science journalist and author.
- Domonique Foxworth, former professional football player.
- Justin Humphries, former professional baseball player.
- Andre Ingram, professional basketball player.
- Shawn Johnson, former professional gymnast and Olympian.
- Steve Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago.
- Simone Manuel, professional swimmer and Olympian.
- Brandon McCarthy, former professional baseball player.
- Mike McGlinchey, offensive tackle for the Denver Broncos.
- Daryl Morey, president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers.
- Lauren Murphy, professional mixed martial artist.
- Kim Ng, advisor with Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball, former general manager of the Miami Marlins.
- JJ Redick, head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.
- Mikaela Shiffrin, professional alpine ski racer and Olympian.
- Mark Teixeira, former professional baseball player.
- Sudhir Venkatesh, professor of sociology at Columbia University.
- Kerri Walsh-Jennings, professional beach volleyball player and Olympian.
- RESOURCES:
- "Compromising Talent: Issues in Identifying and Selecting Talent in Sport," by Joseph Baker, Jörg Schorer, and Nick Wattie (Quest, 2017).
- "Practice and Play in the Development of German Top-Level Professional Football Players," by Manuel Hornig, Friedhelm Aust, and Arne Güllich (European Journal of Sport Science, 2016).
- The Sports Gene, by David Epstein (2013).
- "The Effect of Deliberate Play on Tactical Performance in Basketball," by Pablo Greco, Daniel Memmert, and Juan Carlos Pérez Morales (Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2010).