According to some scientists, elite athletes may have peaked in their abilities.Geoffroy Berthelot, a researcher at the French National Institute of Sport and Physical Education, conducted a study of world records set over the last century. He concluded that the apex of athletic achievement was in 1988, when 11 new world records were established in Olympic events. Seven of those records still stand. More specifically, Berthelot found that 64 percent of the top performances in track and field events haven't been improved on since 1993.
With elite athletes brushing against their physiological limits, the only way to get better may be uniform and equipment improvements, performance-enhancing drugs and, in the future, gene therapy. It was noted that since winter sports are newer than the more traditional Summer Olympic fare, there is still room for improvement on the snow and ice.
So if you're hoping Shaun White does something really crazy in 2014, like a Double McTwist 1260 while drinking a Red Bull, it just might happen.
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