David Epstein is an investigative reporter who writes about sports science, medicine, and Olympic sports. His first book, The Sports Gene, was a top 10 New York Times bestseller and received awards from several publications. Epstein has given lectures about high performance on five continents, including a popular 2014 TED Talk. He was a member of Columbia's varsity track team and earned All-East honors in NCAA Division I running the 800 meters.

1. David Epstein writes about sports science and medicine,
Olympic sports, and is an investigative reporter.
The Sports Gene
is his first book. It was a top 10
New York Times
best seller, and was chosen as a best non-fiction book of 2013
by
The Washington Post
and
Publisher’s Weekly
.
Runner’s World
chose
The Sports Gene
as its book of the year, and the book was a finalist for the
William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, the PEN/ESPN
Literary Sports Writing Award, and the National Academy of
Sciences Communication Award. It has been translated into
sixteen languages.
David has given lectures about the science of high performance
on five continents, including a 2014
TED Talk
(Links to an external site.)
Links to an external site.
that was one of the 20 most viewed of the year. An avid runner,
Epstein was a member of Columbia’s varsity track squad (he ran
the 800) and twice earned All-East honors in NCAA Division I.
We will use his TED Talk as an introduction to our first topic:
G
enetics
and Performance:
1. Click on this
Link
(Links to an external site.)
Links to an external site.

2. to go to the
David Epstein
video.
2. Watch and listen to the video, taking notes as you go.
3. Compose an initial post to
Discussions
which addresses the following:
a. How much of an impact do you think improvements in
technology and training methods have had on your sport of
interest? Give a couple of examples.
b. What genetic factors or characteristics are present in the elite
performers in your sport of interest? (I suggest you read the
Genetic Connection article by Ken Mannie - see attachment at
bottom of page-that we are using for the Written Assignment
before you answer this one!)
c. What was the most interesting point in the video for you?
4
. The content of your posts should convince me and your
classmates that you have watched the video and read the article!