Citius, Altius, Fortius

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Nearly 130 years after the first modern Olympiads, humans might be finally reaching their limits, research says.

This could bring the Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (faster, higher, stronger) to a standstill at the Paris Olympics this year, in the very city where Pierre de Coubertin coined it in 1894.

“The rate of progression must naturally slow down,” physiologist Andrew Jones told the Washington Post.

In a 2008 paper, a group of researchers estimated that more than half of all world records at Olympic events, mostly the oldest, would be topped by 2027 – one year before the Los Angeles Games. But the scientists added that recently introduced sports might peak even faster than those that took over a century to do so.

Some argue the claim goes against human nature in its essence. “It’s part of who we are as a species to push limits and to push beyond what we think we’re capable of doing,” Brad Wilkins from the University of Oregon told the Post.

Equipment is one of the reasons for breaking record after record. While Jesse Owens had to dig holes in cinder tracks to place his feet at the beginning of his races, pressure-sensitive starting blocks and synthetic ground surfaces have since helped athletes surpass his historic wins.

Neuropsychological factors play a huge role, too. An Olympian does need to have all the right physical ingredients to succeed – the brain does the rest.

Science says that athletes’ brains are wired differently from those of ordinary mortals – and that is partly down to genetics. Research in 2015 found that a gene impacting dopamine transportation gave them an extra chemical boost to reach for the stars.

Then, a 2019 study on US student-athletes showed that they had greater abilities to mute surrounding noise and only focus on crucial sounds. Another paper established that elite performers’ cortexes were thicker in areas processing spatial information.

“Your body doesn’t know the history of the world. Your mind knows that,” said Team USA’s Noah Lyle. “If you turn your mind off and let your body just run, you see amazing things happen.”