The best definition of talent relating to athletics I’ve heard came from Glenn Gaesser, professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia. During a lecture to athletes many years ago detailing VO2 max test implications and other science-oriented topics, someone asked how to identify the most talented athletes. He paused dramatically to allow everyone to poise their pens, and then he said, “Go to a race and stand at the finish line. Then… see who crosses the line first. There is the most talented athlete.” If you look at talent in this light instead of the usual talent versus hard work paradigm, a new possibility emerges: talent can take on a broader definition so that the ability to apply the focus, discipline, and motivation to put in hard work day after day, year after year becomes a highly esteemed type of talent. Particularly if you have great genetic abilities or have enjoyed the level of success that Lance Armstrong has, the potential for distraction is enormous.From "How Lance Does It" by Brad Kearns
