Peak Performance: Why Records Fall - New York Times

Peak Performance: Why Records Fall - New York Times: "THE old joke -- How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice -- is getting a scientific spin. Researchers are finding an unexpected potency from deliberate practice in world-class competitions of all kinds, including chess matches, musical recitals and sporting events.

Studies of chess masters, virtuoso musicians and star athletes show that the relentless training routines of those at the top allows them to break through ordinary limits in memory and physiology, and so perform at levels that had been thought impossible.

World records have been falling inexorably over the last century. For example, the marathon gold medalist's time in the 1896 Olympics Games was, by 1990, only about as good as the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon."