In a direct line going back 500 years, neither side of my parental ancestry has produced a single common athlete, much less a superior one.
The one team area of physical effort for which we were valued was front line service during medieval battles. My ancestors excelled at arrow catching, being doused with flammable substances while assaulting castles, and getting ridden down by cavalry.
Hallie, 17, is a sprinter. On Tuesday, she ran the 100- and 400-meter races. She didn’t finish first but that didn’t matter. It’s the fact that she ran at all that made me proud.