Introduction: in search of sports genes -- Beat by an underhand girl: the gene-free model of expertise -- A tale of two high jumpers (or: 10,000 hours plus or minus 10,000 hours) -- Major league vision and the greatest child athlete sample ever: the hardware and software paradigm -- Why men have nipples -- The talent of trainability -- Superbaby, bully whippets, and the trainability of muscle -- The big bang of body types -- The vitruvian NBA player -- We are all black (sort of): race and genetic diversity -- The warrior-slave theory of Jamaican sprinting -- Malaria and muscle fibers -- Can every Kalenjin run? -- The world's greatest accidental (altitudinous) talent sieve -- Sled dogs, ultrarunners, and couch potato genes -- The heartbreak gene: death, injury, and pain on the field -- The gold medal mutation -- Epilogue: the perfect athlete.
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