Overview
- A meta-analysis in Science pooled 19 large datasets covering roughly 34,000–35,000 elite adults across sport, music, chess and science.
- Across extended periods, overlap between the best youths and the best adults was small, illustrated by only about 10% identity between top‑ten youth and adult chess players and similar patterns in education and sport.
- Later world‑class performers commonly sampled multiple activities before narrowing focus, and in sport they entered talent programs about three years later than national‑level peers.
- Within the highest performance strata, early peak results showed a negative statistical association with later world‑class achievement.
- The authors advise talent systems to avoid selecting primarily on early rankings and to promote broader development, with practitioners highlighting real‑world constraints and risks such as burnout and age‑related maturation effects.