turning raw talent into a pipeline before anyone realizes they've been drafted into it.
means the systematic process of building athletic ability, participation, and infrastructure from grassroots to elite level.
from emerged as a policy field in the 1960s-70s when governments realized olympic medals don't fall from trees, they get funded, coached, and scouted for decades.
uk sport's medal factory — funded rio 2016 team gb to 67 medals via targeted cash
jamaica's sprint pipeline — champs high school meet has produced usain bolt-level depth since 1910
clairefontaine academy — france's national football academy since 1988, birthed henry and mbappe's generation
kenya's rift valley running — altitude towns like iten export marathon champions by the dozen