Practice Doesn’t Always Make Perfect — That’s Why You’re Not in the Olympics
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Martha Gill uses a striking sports narrative to challenge the popular belief that practice alone determines success. Stefan Holm, who trained obsessively for 15 years and won Olympic gold in 2004, faced an unexpected defeat in 2007 from Donald Thomas, a newcomer who had been high jumping for only eight months and admitted finding the sport boring.
The key difference wasn’t dedication but biology: Thomas possessed an Achilles tendon that could store slightly more elastic energy than his competitors. This anecdote serves as a powerful illustration of genetics’ role in athletic performance, directly confronting the comforting narrative that anyone can achieve excellence through sufficient hard work and invoking deeper questions about talent, natural advantages, and the limits of human effort.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Dedication Versus Genetic Advantage
Stefan Holm’s 15-year obsession with perfect technique was overcome by Donald Thomas’s natural Achilles tendon advantage after just eight months of casual training.
The 10,000-Hour Rule Questioned
Holm believed in the 10,000-hour principle of deliberate practice, yet biological advantages proved decisive at the elite competition level.
Biomechanical Advantages Matter
Thomas’s Achilles tendon could store marginally more elastic energy, providing a decisive edge despite poor form and inadequate training habits.
Uncomfortable Truth About Meritocracy
The narrative challenges the comforting belief that anyone can reach the pinnacle of achievement through sufficient dedication and hard work.
Extreme Dedication as Compensation
Holm overcame being “too short” through extraordinary mental training, pushing beyond natural limits to train his mind to overshoot targets consistently.
Luck of Natural Selection
Thomas discovered his talent by accident through a bet, highlighting how elite performance sometimes depends on inheriting the right biological lottery ticket.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Genetics Limits Meritocratic Dreams
The central argument uses elite athletics to demonstrate that genetic advantages can decisively outweigh even extreme dedication and practice. By contrasting Holm’s fanatical 15-year preparation with Thomas’s casual eight-month involvement, Gill illustrates that biological inheritance—specifically an Achilles tendon with superior elastic properties—can trump deliberate practice at the highest competitive levels. This undermines the popular narrative that sufficient effort guarantees achievement, forcing readers to confront uncomfortable truths about innate ability and the limits of human agency.
Purpose
Challenge Motivational Orthodoxy
Gill’s purpose is to puncture the ubiquitous cultural narrative that anyone can achieve anything through sufficient determination. By presenting this stark athletic example during Olympic season, she provokes readers to reconsider their assumptions about talent, effort, and fairness. The piece implicitly asks whether society’s emphasis on individual responsibility and meritocracy acknowledges biological realities, using the emotionally resonant story of two athletes to make abstract debates about genetics concrete and personally meaningful.
Structure
Parallel Narrative → Dramatic Confrontation
The article establishes two contrasting figures: first introducing Holm’s extraordinary dedication and perfectionism, then pivoting to Thomas’s casual, almost reluctant involvement. This parallel structure builds toward their 2007 championship confrontation, which serves as the dramatic climax. The piece derives its rhetorical power from the stark juxtaposition—every detail about Holm’s obsession (training his mind to overshoot targets) intensifies the shock of Thomas’s victory. The structure forces readers to hold both narratives simultaneously, creating cognitive tension that reinforces the main argument.
Tone
Wry, Provocative & Matter-of-Fact
Gill adopts a knowing, slightly sardonic tone that acknowledges the uncomfortable implications of her argument. The title itself is provocative and direct, addressing readers with “that’s why you’re not in the Olympics”—a statement that’s simultaneously humorous and pointed. She presents the biological facts matter-of-factly while allowing the narrative’s dramatic irony to carry the emotional weight. The tone avoids both harsh determinism and false encouragement, instead maintaining an intellectually honest stance about human limitations that respects readers’ intelligence while challenging their cherished beliefs.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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The strong fibrous cord connecting the calf muscles to the heel bone, crucial for jumping and running movements.
“He had one big advantage: an Achilles tendon that could store just a bit more elastic energy than everyone else’s.”
A person competing against or contending with another in a contest, competition, or conflict.
“Entering the world championships in Japan as the favourite, he faced an unknown opponent: Donald Thomas.”
The study of mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms, especially the body’s physical mechanics.
“Thomas’s superior biomechanics gave him an edge despite his lack of dedication to training.”
In a clumsy, ungainly, or uncomfortable manner that lacks grace, skill, or proper coordination.
“That year, Thomas sprang awkwardly over the bar to victory.”
To convince someone to do or believe something through reasoning, argument, or appeal to their interests.
“His coach couldn’t even persuade him to wear the right kind of shoes.”
A competition to determine the champion or best competitor in a particular sport or field; the title held by a champion.
“In 2007, entering the world championships in Japan as the favourite, he faced Donald Thomas.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1Donald Thomas had been high jumping for less than a year when he defeated Stefan Holm at the 2007 world championships.
2What specific biological advantage did Donald Thomas possess over his competitors?
3Which sentence best illustrates the extreme nature of Stefan Holm’s dedication to high jumping?
4Evaluate these statements about the two athletes described in the article:
Stefan Holm was told his physical attributes made him unsuitable for high jumping.
Donald Thomas began high jumping after making a bet with someone.
Thomas wore specially designed shoes recommended by his coach during the championship.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5What broader implication about human achievement does the article suggest through this athletic comparison?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
“The Sports Gene” is a book by David Epstein that explores the science behind athletic performance, examining the interplay between genetics and training. Epstein’s work investigates how much of elite athletic success stems from innate biological advantages versus dedicated practice. The book features interviews with athletes like Stefan Holm and examines cases where genetic factors prove decisive, challenging popular narratives about achievement being purely a product of hard work and determination.
No—the article doesn’t suggest practice is irrelevant, but rather that it has limits at the elite level. Holm’s Olympic gold medal demonstrates that extraordinary dedication can produce exceptional results. However, the article argues that genetic advantages can be decisive when competitors reach the highest echelons of performance. Practice remains essential for developing skills and reaching competitive levels, but small biological differences may determine outcomes among the absolute best athletes where everyone trains intensively. The point is about the ceiling of what practice alone can achieve.
Holm’s practice of reading 15 pages beyond his intended stopping point demonstrates his commitment to training mental discipline across all life activities. By deliberately ‘overshooting’ targets even during leisure reading, he aimed to condition his mind for exceeding limits—directly applicable to jumping higher than the bar. This extreme approach reveals a belief in comprehensive mental training and the 10,000-hour principle, showing how elite athletes often integrate their sport’s demands into every aspect of life. It exemplifies the total dedication required to compensate for physical disadvantages.
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This article is rated Advanced due to its sophisticated argumentation through narrative, requiring readers to extract broader philosophical implications from a specific anecdote. While the vocabulary is accessible, the article demands inference skills to understand how the athletic story challenges cultural narratives about meritocracy and achievement. Advanced readers should recognize the piece’s provocative stance on genetics versus effort, appreciate the rhetorical power of the dramatic contrast between athletes, and understand implications for debates about talent, fairness, and human potential beyond sports contexts.
The Holm-Thomas comparison is rhetorically perfect for challenging the “practice makes perfect” narrative because the contrast is so stark and counterintuitive. Holm represents the ultimate dedication—15 years of obsessive preparation, mental training in every life activity, Olympic gold. Thomas represents apparent undeservingness—eight months’ experience, admitting boredom, refusing proper equipment. Yet Thomas won. This dramatic reversal forces readers to confront uncomfortable questions about fairness and meritocracy that would be easier to dismiss with less extreme examples. The specificity and emotional resonance make abstract genetic arguments concrete and undeniable.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
