Boulder business tests for athletic gene

Boulder business tests for athletic genes : County News : Boulder Daily Camera

At age 3, Iddrisu Alidu enjoys soccer, basketball, swimming and bicycling, and that’s all the information his mother needs to keep her son active in sports.

But some parents want more information about what sports their children are genetically suited for, and a Boulder company on Monday began offering families the chance to find out.

For $149, Atlas Sports Genetics, 2845 29th St., will send a genetic sample taken from inside a child’s cheek to a laboratory in Australia. There, technicians will analyze the ACTN3 gene, which has been linked to athletic performance.

Families can order the testing kit on the company’s Web site, www.atlasgene.com. After swabbing the inside of their child’s cheek, parents send the sample back to the Boulder office to be processed and delivered overseas, said Kevin Reilly, president and co-owner of Atlas.

In about two weeks, Atlas presents customers with a certificate indicating whether their child is a genetic fit for strength and power sports, endurance athletics or a combination of the two.

“A lot of times, people pick their sports based on influence from their parents, or they might do football or soccer if friends are doing that,” Reilly said.

Children can work toward success in any sport they choose, he said. “But if they’re better suited for something ... that’s good information to have.”

The New York Times on Sunday published a story about Atlas and its genetic test. Reilly said his company made testing kits available to the public Monday, and about 60 families so far have placed orders.

Experts, parents and coaches have both praised and criticized the test. Some support it as a tool to help children excel in sports. Others reject it as “irrelevant” and unethical, or they say one gene doesn’t provide enough information about a person to determine athletic performance.

Reilly said the genetic test should be used in conjunction with other athletic tools and training. Knowing a person’s strength at a young age can help develop skills early, he said.

For instance, gymnasts often peak at a young age.

“So our ability to identify kids for certain sports younger and younger is important,” he said.

And getting children into a sport for which they’re naturally gifted can keep them from becoming frustrated by a game that “they don’t have the best chance or ability to do.”

Researcher: Test results ‘not particularly relevant’

The genetic link to elite athletic performance was brought to light in a 2003 study published in Australia. The study analyzed the DNA of 429 elite athletes, specifically looking at the ACTN3 gene, which has different variants to either instruct the body to produce a specific muscle protein or prevent production of that protein.

People with the R variant of ACTN3 were found to have muscles capable of forceful and quick movements used in speed and power sports. People with the X variant of the gene — which prevents production of the protein — were found to be good endurance athletes.

Carl Foster, co-author of the study and director of the human performance lab at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said a single gene doesn’t make up a person’s athletic prowess. That’s why knowledge about ACTN3 alone won’t help a person identify his or her best sport, Foster said.

“It’s not just the chance that you get one gene,” he said. “You have to get a lot of them.”

Foster said he doesn’t doubt the Australian lab can correctly identify certain variants of ACTN3 in athletes.

“But the quality of the information they give back to children is not particularly relevant,” he said.

An Olympic long jumper from Spain proved the ACTN3 research inconsistent when his test results showed no copies of the R variant that normally would be linked to success in his sport, Foster said. That proves environment, training and luck also play a role in a person’s athletic success, he said.

Exposing children to as many activities as possible is the way to find their best sport, Foster said.

Coaching to the gene

Reilly and a partner entered the talent-identification business nearly a year and a half ago.

Focus groups of parents expressed interest in genetic testing, and Reilly said his company thought it would be a “nice supplement” to its other athletic-aptitude tests.

As a weight-lifting coach, Reilly said, he would have loved to have genetic information at his disposal.

“A lot of coaches spend time with kids they like — the coachable ones,” he said. “But they are not always the ones that are the most talented.”

Peter Ambrose, director of coaching for Boulder Indoor Soccer, said he doesn’t think a genetic test would alter his coaching.

“Maybe I’m old-school, but I’m just not ready to limit it to one component as to whether a person is going to be successful in soccer,” Ambrose said. “I think you have the ability to become whatever athlete you want to become.”

Ambrose said he believes there’s “some validity to what they’re doing” and is interested in learning about the genes of some of his athletes.

“But I think it’s too little information to decide too much information,” he said.

‘Michael Jordan never had that done’

While watching her 3-year-old son run circles around a soccer field, Joanna Alidu, of Louisville, said Monday that she thinks children need to feel free to do what they love without feeling pressure to excel in something a test identified as their strength.

Athletes for decades have gravitated toward their best sports without using a test, she said.

“Michael Jordan never had that done, I’m sure,” she said.

Reilly said his organization means only to open doors for young athletes, not close them.

“We don’t want to limit people,” he said. “We want to expand people’s horizons.”

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