Probably mental attitude. For every talented athlete who makes it to the top, there are others who are equally talented but don't. In fact, often the most successful athletes are those who have had the most obstacles to overcome. All four skaters went on to become world champions, and Scott and Kristi also became Olympic gold medalists.
Every sport has athletes who have overcome great odds to succeed.
Swimmer Amy Van Dyken, the only American woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics, suffers from asthma. Because of her illness, she couldn't swim the length of a pool until she was 12. A study of Olympians at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics revealed that 67 of the 597 U.S. competitors were asthmatics. They won 41 of the 174 U. S. medals. Although he had been an outstanding teenage athlete, by the time he had his transplant at age 21, heart disease had left him with virtually no strength.