ABSTRACT
This essay addresses the belief that the performances of champions are attributable to either the genetic make up. or to some notion of genius of athletes. Individualistic and/or behavioural explanations tend to dominate. Yet, such explanations provide a very limited grasp of the genesis of performances and reveal nothing about the stage on which the ‘act’ is performed, the theatre in which the ‘play’ takes place or the impact that sport has on society. In emphasizing the cultural making of sport, this is not to dismiss the notion of genius, or overlook the creativity, expressiveness and existential experiences that are part of sport. In fact, champions of sport perform powerful functions for the societies they represent. This essay, then, seeks to capture both the construction of genius and what it tells us about the societies which such champions represent.
