EXTRA: Here’s Why You’re Not an Elite Athlete (Update)

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).

EXTRAS: • " The Hidden Side of Sports • ," series by Freakonomics Radio • (2018). • “ How to Become Great at Just About Anything • ” Freakonomics Radio • (2016).

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