Most of the British archers started out when they were kids/teenagers but they haven't won gold in many years. It seems if you spent a couple of years getting the technique perfect and then applying some thought into training and mental conditioning you could dominate that sport.
Of course the more athletic sports require extreme training for many years and even the professionals find that draining.
I think it has more to do with enjoying it enough to the point where you dedicate every day to training. If you're already an adult then you've probably found your own niche lifestyle and might struggle to break old habits.
I'm always surprised that there isn't more focus on broadening the sports curriculum to try and appeal to people for this sort of reason.
I mean, it's a common complaint that kids aren't active enough nowadays, and how many kids say they hate PE but might actually enjoy some of the lesser known sports? I disliked PE, but most of what we did was running, football and netball. When we played tennis or hockey I loved it, but we rarely did that.
Why don't kids get a chance to try a wider range of stuff? So not just running, but also archery, fencing, contact sports...
I mean, there could be a whole load of kids out there who would have a natural affinity for a sport, or who would love canoeing or shooting to the point that they
would be that dedicated if they ever actually got a chance to try it out and realise that while they were still younger.
And erm, on the topic of currently airing sport - watching the Canoe Slalom is fascinating. I've never watched any sort of competitive canoeing before, but it's actually really interesting.