Nature, nurture required for elite athletes

Swimmer Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time during the London Olympics. Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter, Zara Philllips, helped her equestrian team win a silver medal. The American women's gymnastics team won gold. All of them are very different athletes. All were elite. Do they have a genetic edge over the rest of us?

Doctors Michael Joyner and Michael Bostwick at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota studied this and also looked at other research.

“Most high-level athletes have something that distinguishes them from regular people and thus makes them able to compete at a very high level,” noted Bostwick.

Joyner added that certain body types can...

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