Blame it on lop-sidedness.

Here's something you probably never thought of before. If you're not turning in world-class times, it just might be because you lack symmetry in what biologists would call "paired traits." Could be that your nostrils, ear lobes, digits--all those parts of your body that form mirror images of each other--don't really measure up with perfect symmetry. Not something you ever worried about, right? Well, apparently researchers, as usual, are a few steps ahead when it comes to minutiae.

In the constant search to determine what separates elite athletes from the rest of us, exercise physiologists at the University of Liverpool in England measured several traits--ear size, nostril width, second to fifth digit length, and wrist width--of 50 male, middle-distance runners. Those runners who had more symmetry in these and presumably other traits, had higher rankings for athletic ability, faster 800 meter times, and faster 1,500 meter times as compared to those who were, shall we say, less perfectly arranged. The authors concluded that the relative symmetry of physical traits is a good predictor of running ability.

Future coaches might evaluate potential young athletes with tape measures and calipers to see how they measure up, like buyers of racehorses. But, do they have a caliper for the heart and soul of a runner, or the drive and discipline?

(International Journal of Sports Medicine, 1998, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 205-209)