This scene is the first of many describing Thomas’ innate ability at high jump. In this scene, he has absolutely no experience with high jump and yet, miraculously, he sets a gym record the “seventh high jump attempt of his life,” (Epstein). This illustrates how unusual Thomas’ abilities are.
Thomas is Studied
This is another scene describing Thomas’ innate ability at high jump. He cleared a seven foot jump, an incredibly high bar, literally, without any of the technique that would give a normal person the ability to do this. As the author puts it, his legs “flailed in the air like the streamers trailing a kite,” (Epstein).
Thomas Doesn't Know about Tiebreakers
This scene is perhaps the culmination of the successive demonstrations of Thomas’ status as an anomaly. He propels his center of mass to a level far greater than the greatest before him, and yet still only once makes a singular world championship. As stated, “he would have shattered the world record,” (Epstein).
Genetic predisposition to athletic ability gives some athletes a colossal advantage over less fortunate athletes. Donald Thomas is a prime example of this, as he is an athlete with very little skill but massive anatomical advantage.
This scene explains perhaps why Thomas is such an anomaly; the secret lies in his anatomy. His Achilles’ tendon is colossal, simply giving him more power than anyone else can produce. This “uncharacteristically long,” (Epstein) tendon, a result of nothing more than winning the genetic lottery, allowed him to achieve what no fellow man could dream of.
His unacquaintance with the sport is emphasized in a rather extreme manner here. He is competing in a global tournament and doesn’t even know the basic rules yet. As Epstein puts it, the “result... actually confused him,” (Epstein).
Sukurta daugiau nei 30 milijonų siužetinių lentelių