UK Sport could not say if a disproportionately high number of the 1,300 athletes across 47 sports it funds were born in November and October. Natalie Dunman, its head of performance pathways, said that, while the differences highlighted in the new findings were borne out by teenagers competing in junior-level competitions, they had disappeared by the time athletes were taking part in adult competitions. She said: “Looking at elite, senior athletes, there are many factors that go into making a champion and our work hasn’t uncovered anything to suggest that month of birth is one of the key ingredients.”
Where does Dunamn believe the athletic abilities of adults are derived from?
A combination of multiple different factors The month in which they were born in The opportunities offered by UK Sport during their youth Primarily from their innate genetics