The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance (33 page)

Fair, Ray C. (2008). “Estimated Age Effects in Baseball.”
Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports,
4(1):1.

41
Ted Williams on his own vision:

Williams, Ted, and John W. Underwood.
My Turn at Bat: The Story of My Life
. Simon and Schuster, 1988, p. 93–94.

42
Keith Hernandez’s quote is from his commentary on SNY during the sixth inning of the Mets game against the Nationals on April 10, 2012.

42
Virtual-reality batting studies:

Gray, Rob (2002). “Behavior of College Baseball Players in a Virtual Batting Task.”
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
, 28(5):1131–48.

Hyllegard, R. (1991). “The Role of Baseball Seam Pattern in Pitch Recognition.”
Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology
, 13:80–84.

42
Most tennis pros have outstanding visual acuity, but a few have average vision:

Fremion, Amy S., et al. (1986). “Binocular and Monocular Visual Function in World Class Tennis Players.”
Binocular Vision,
1(3):147–54.

43
Muhammad Ali’s reaction speed:

Kamin, Leon J., and Sharon Grant-Henry (1987). “Reaction Time, Race, and Racism.”
Intelligence
, 11:299–304.

43
Visual-acuity of Olympians:

Laby, Daniel M., David G. Kirschen, and Paige Pantall (2011). “The Visual Function of Olympic-Level Athletes—An Initial Report.”
Eye & Contact Lens
, Mar. 3 (ePub ahead of print).

43
Depth perception and catching skills:

Mazyn, Liesbeth I. N., et al. (2004). “The Contribution of Stereo Vision to One-Handed Catching.”
Experimental Brain Research
, 157:383–90.

Mazyn, Liesbeth I. N., et al. (2007). “Stereo Vision Enhances the Learning of a Catching Skill.”
Experimental Brain Research
, 179:723–26.

44
Emory study of youth baseball/softball players:

Boden, Lauren M., et al. (2009). “A Comparison of Static Near Stereo Acuity in Youth Baseball/Softball Players and Non–Ball Players.”
Optometry
, 80:121–25.

45
Schneider’s tennis study is published only in German:

Schneider, W., K. Bös, and H. Rieder (1993). “Leistungsprognose bei jugendlichen Spitzensportlern [Performance prediction in adolescent top tennis players].” In: J. Beckmann, H. Strang, and E. Hahn, eds.,
Aufmerksamkeit und Energetisierung
. Göttingen: Hogrefe.

46
Graf’s training with Germany’s Olympic track team is mentioned in her husband’s memoir:

Agassi, Andre.
Open.
Vintage, 2010 (Kindle e-book).

46
An introduction to the Groningen talent studies:

Elferink-Gemser, Marije T., et al. (2004). “The Marvels of Elite Sports: How to Get There?”
British Journal of Sports Medicine
, 45:683–84.

Elferink-Gemser, Marije T., and Chris Visscher. “Chapter 8: Who Are the Superstars of Tomorrow? Talent Development in Dutch Soccer.” In: Joseph Baker, Steve Cobley, and Jörg Schorer, eds.
Talent Identification and Development in Sport: International Perspectives.
Routledge, 2011.

50
The difference in practice hours between Belgian and Dutch field hockey players:

van Rossum, Jacques H. A. “Chapter 37: Giftedness and Talent in Sport.” In: L. V. Shavinina, ed.
International Handbook on Giftedness.
Springer, 2009.

50
Diverse, rather than specialized sports experience can lead to the attainment of expertise in certain sports:

Baker, Joseph (2003). “Early Specialization in Youth Sport: A Requirement for Adult Expertise?”
High Ability Studies
, 14(1):85–94.

Baker, Joseph, Jean Côté, and Bruce Abernethy (2003). “Sport-Specific Practice and the Development of Expert Decision-Making in Team Ball Sports.”
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology,
15:12–25.

52
Discussion of the “speed plateau”:

Schiffer, Jürgen (2011). “Training to Overcome the Speed Plateau.”
New Studies in Athletics
, 26(1/2):7–16.

53
Tiger Woods, on his desire to play:

Verdi, Bob. “The Grillroom: Tiger Woods.”
Golf Digest.
January 1, 2000, 51(1):132.

53
Tiger could balance on his father’s palm at six months:

Smith, Gary. “The Chosen One.”
Sports Illustrated.
December 23, 1996.

4

Why Men Have Nipples

56
The best read on the travails of María José Martínez-Patiño was written by Martínez-Patiño herself:

Martínez-Patiño, María José (2005). “Personal Account: A Woman Tried and Tested.”
Lancet
, 366:S38.

59
U.S. News
&
World Report
surveyed Americans on whether female athletes would soon beat male athletes:

Holden, Constance (2004). “An Everlasting Gender Gap?”
Science
, 305: 639–40.

59
The papers suggesting that women will outrun men:

Beneke, R., R. M. Leithäuser, and M. Doppelmayr (2005). “Women Will Do It in the Long Run.”
British Journal of Sports Medicine
, 39:410.

Tatem, Andrew J., et al. (2004). “Momentous Sprint at the 2156 Olympics? Women Sprinters Are Closing the Gap on Men and May One Day Overtake Them.”
Nature
, 431:525.

Whipp, Brian J., and Susan A. Ward (1992). “Will Women Soon Outrun Men?”
Nature
, 355:25.

60
Men out-throw women by three standard deviations, and the gap starts before sports participation:

Thomas, Jerry R., and Karen E. French. “Gender Differences Across Age in Motor Performance: A Meta-Analysis.”
Psychological Bulletin
, 98(2):260–82.

61
Background on sexual differentiation (particularly chapter 1):

Baron-Cohen, Simon, Svetlana Lutchmaya, and Rebecca Knickmeyer.
Prenatal Testosterone in Mind: Amniotic Fluid Studies
. The MIT Press, 2004.

61
David C. Geary’s book
Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences
, 2nd ed., American Psychological Association, 2010, is a fascinating read and the main resource for facts about sex differences in this chapter (example: boys develop longer forearms than girls while still in the womb; 30 percent of hunter-gatherer men died at the hands of other men; sex differences in upper-body strength). This compilation of one hundred years of studies of sex differences was also used:

Ellis, Lee, et al.
Sex Differences: Summarizing More Than a Century of Scientific Research
. Psychology Press, 2008.

61
The male/female throwing gap, and throwing skill in Australian Aboriginal children:

Thomas, Jerry R., et al. (2010). “Developmental Gender Differences for Overhand Throwing in Australian Aboriginal Children.”
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
, 81(4):1–10.

62
Sexual selection and physical competition in humans and other animals, and targeting skill differences:

Puts, David A. (2010). “Beauty and the Beast: Mechanisms of Sexual Selection in Humans.”
Evolution and Human Behavior
, 31:157–75.

62
Targeting skills of females who are exposed to higher than normal levels of testosterone prenatally:

Hines, M., et al. (2003). “Spatial Abilities Following Prenatal Androgen Abnormality: Targeting and Mental Rotations Performance in Individuals with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia.”
Psychoneuroendocrinology
, 28(8):1010–26.

62
Despite the throwing gap, highly trained women will out-throw untrained men:

Schorer, Jörg, et al. (2007). “Identification of Interindividual and Intraindividual Movement Patterns in Handball Players of Varying Expertise Levels.”
Journal of Motor Behavior,
39(5):409–21.

62
Analysis of the elite performance gap in track and field and swimming:

Thibault, Valérie, et al. (2010). “Women and Men in Sport Performance: The Gender Gap Has Not Evolved Since 1983.”
Journal of Sports Science and Medicine,
9:214–23.

62
Sex differences in ultraendurance races, starting on p. 682 of a book known to a generation of runners:

Noakes, Timothy D.
Lore of Running
(4th ed.). Human Kinetics, 2002.

63
The widening running gap between men and women:

Denny, Mark W. (2008). “Limits to Running Speed in Dogs, Horses and Humans.”
The Journal of Experimental Biology
, 211:3836–49.

Holden, Constance (2004). “An Everlasting Gender Gap?”
Science
, 305: 639–40.

65
Sex differences in skeletal growth and proportions:

Malina, Robert, Claude Bouchard, and Oded Bar-Or.
Growth, Maturation & Physical Activity
(2nd ed.). Human Kinetics, 2003.

Malina, Robert M. “Part Five: Post-natal Growth and Maturation.” In: Stanley J. Ulijaszek, et al. eds.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development.
Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Morgenthal, Paige A., and Diane N. Resnick. “Chapter 14: The Female Athlete: Current Concepts.” In: Robert D. Mootz and Kevin McCarthy, eds.,
Sports Chiropractic
. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 1999.

65
A table listing basic physical differences between the sexes that are relevant to athleticism is on p. 176 of:

Abernethy, Bruce, et al.
The Biophysical Foundations of Human Movement
(2nd ed.). Human Kinetics, 2004.

66
Physical competition depends on the area inhabited by the organism:

Puts, David A. (2010). “Beauty and the Beast: Mechanisms of Sexual Selection in Humans.”
Evolution and Human Behavior
, 31:157–75.

67
Studies that document the larger number of female than male ancestors of modern humans are numerous, but a summary can be found in Geary’s
Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences
, on pp. 234–35.

67
The “Genghis Khan paper”:

Zerjal, T., et al. (2003). “The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols.”
American Journal of Human Genetics
, 72:717–21.

67
Meta-analysis of the pre- and postpuberty gap in athletic skills between males and females ages two to twenty:

Thomas, Jerry R., and Karen E. French. “Gender Differences Across Age in Motor Performance: A Meta-Analysis.”
Psychological Bulletin
, 98(2):260–82.

67
Prior to puberty, boys and girls do not differ in height or muscle and bone mass:

Gooren, Louis J. (2008). “Olympic Sports and Transsexuals.”
Asian Journal of Andrology
. 10(3):427–32.

68
Age-related changes in boys and girls for a range of physical skills—throwing, sprinting—are in chapter 11 of:

Malina, Robert, Claude Bouchard, and Oded Bar-Or.
Growth, Maturation & Physical Activity
(2nd ed.). Human Kinetics, 2003.

68
Discussion of physical characteristics, including body fat, of female marathoners:

Christensen, Carol L., and R. O. Ruhling (1983). “Physical Characteristics of Novice and Experienced Women Marathon Runners.”
British Journal of Sports Medicine
, 17(3):166–71.

68
Discussion of body size and performance in developing gymnasts:

Claessens, Albrecht L. (2006). “Maturity-Associated Variation in the Body Size and Proportions of Elite Female Gymnasts 14–17 Years of Age.”
European Journal of Pediatrics
, 165:186–92.

Malina, R. M. (1994). “Physical Growth and Biological Maturation of Young Athletes.”
Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews
, 22:389–433.

69
A captivating look into the East German doping program:

Ungerleider, Steven.
Faust’s Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine.
Thomas Dunne Books, 2001.

70
Two excellent reviews of intersex conditions in Olympians:

Ritchie, Robert, John Reynard, and Tom Lewis (2008). “Intersex and the Olympic Games.”
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
, 101:395–99.

Tucker, Ross, and Malcolm Collins (2009). “The Science and Management of Sex Verification in Sport.”
South African Journal of Sports Medicine
, 21(4):147–150.

70
The male and female ranges of testosterone come from interviews with endocrinologists and lab reference ranges. The testosterone reference range varies slightly by lab. Quest Diagnostics provides a male range of 241–827 nanograms of testosterone per deciliter of blood. The Mayo Clinic provides a similar range: http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/8508.

71
Seven female athletes at the Atlanta Olympics who were found to have an SRY gene:

Wonkam, Ambroise, Karen Fieggen, and Raj Ramesar (2010). “Beyond the Caster Semenya Controversy.”
Journal of Genetic Counseling
, 19(6):545–548.

71
The prevalence of a Y chromosome in female competitors over five Olympics:

Foddy, Bennett, and Julian Savulescu (2011). “Time to Re-evaluate Gender Segregation in Athletics?”
British Journal of Sports Medicine
, 45(15):1184–88.

71
Rates of complete androgen insensitivity syndrome:

Galani, Angeliki, et al. (2008). “Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome: Clinical Features and Molecular Defects.”
Hormones
, 7(3):217–29.

71
Among the studies that document tall stature and masculine skeletal ratios in women with AIS:

Han T. S., et al. (2008). “Comparison of Bone Mineral Density and Body Proportions Between Women with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and Women with Gonadal Dysgenesis.”
European Journal of Endocrinology
, 159:179–85.

Zachmann, M., et al. (1986). “Pubertal Growth in Patients with Androgen Insensitivity: Indirect Evidence for the Importance of Estrogens in Pubertal Growth of Girls.”
Journal of Pediatrics
,
108:694–97.

71
Androgen insensitivity only “scratches the surface” of intersex conditions in sports: