E39 | Tim Wigmore
Episode summary | Tim Wigmore
In late 2020 sports journalist Tim Wigmore released his second book – The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made – together with renowned sports scientist Mark Williams.
The book lays a path to athletic greatness based on science, personal stories and exclusive interviews with some of the world’s top athletes—such as Elena Delle Donne, Steph Curry, Pete Sampras and Joey Votto as well as English Premier League superstars Marcus Rashford and Jamie Carragher, plus leading coaches like Steve Kerr.
Wigmore paints a picture of sporting prowess from inception to the big leagues, revealing starting truths of athletic greatness—including why younger siblings have far more chance of becoming elite athletes, why medium-sized towns produce the most superstars and the role of informal play—and offers a deconstruction about how each of us can be the best we can possibly be.
Show notes | Tim Wigmore
2.06 Intro to Tim Wigmore live from lockdown number four in the UK and his book The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made – the Freakonomics of sport
7.14 What part of the research surprised Tim the most, and what have been the hot topics picked out by the readers so far?
21.54 The younger sibling effect: featuring Venus and Serena Williams
29.16 The 10,000 hour theory, early specialisation, and talent identification
35.17 How long was the journey in writing the book?
37.58 Inside the mind of champions: Mike Hussey a right hander batting left handed
41.23 Jamie Carragher: A super thinker in football
48.09 The science of success: Sleep more!
53.28 Training smarter: Virtual reality training and sport
1.01.09 Interviewing some of sports biggest names: Pete Sampras, Steph Curry, Steve Kerr, Marcus Rashford, Kumar Sangakkara, Dan Carter, Siya Kolisi
1.07.34 Tim on T20 and his sporting passion for cricket
1.12.25 Final words from Steve, Seamus, and Tim
