A debut nonfiction by a Sports Business Journal writer Joe Lemire, THE ATHLETE CODE explores the fast-changing world of tech- and data-driven athlete development and injury prevention, using vivid narrative and experiential journalism to chronicle humanity’s progress in these areas. For fans of The Sports Gene and Born To Run.
THE ATHLETE CODE:
Biohacking the Limits of Human Performance
by Joe Lemire
St. Martin’s Press, Spring 2028
(via the David Black Agency)
From our Apple Watches to our Oura Rings, wearable tech is everywhere. But where is performance technology going? And with its help, how far can we push the human body?
THE ATHLETE CODE by Joe Lemire will explore these questions while taking readers on an enlightening journey of data and devices, breakthroughs and revelations, vivid anecdotes and memorable characters—and even his own admirable athletic efforts.
Athletes, coaches, and trainers have always tried to turn scientific breakthrough into on-the-field advantage. But historically that has happened by way of more effective equipment, better nutrition, and data that outsmarts conventional wisdom. Now, the fertile ground for a tech- and data-driven edge is in player development and injury prevention. And the sports tech industry is on the precipice of realizing the Holy Grail potential of two goals that long seemed mutually exclusive: performance and durability.
We are witnessing a golden era of sports performance, as new technologies are allowing athletes to reach unprecedented heights. These devices monitor, analyze and predict athlete form and performance in increasingly more precise and less invasive ways—and as a result, they help their subjects push the boundaries of what humans can achieve.
THE ATHLETE CODE will chronicle humanity’s progress in these areas, including:
• The data-driven development of the fittest man in world history.
• The implementation of the first real-time injury detection system capable of identifying muscle, ligament or tendon tears minutes before they happen.
• Insole sensors that can detect asymmetrical movement and advanced motion-capture analysis, both of which have been used by some of the world’s fastest sprinters.
• Bluetooth-connected EEG caps that enable athletes to play video games with their mind to train concentration and decision-making.
• Biomechanical analysis that helped turn a walk-on college baseball player into an ACC Pitcher of the Year, the No. 7 overall MLB draft pick, and a future ace.
Lemire will bring this reporting to life with absorbing stories (the remarkable tale of a professional baseball team’s injury-free season), dozens of exclusive interviews (including with Olympic gold medalists, world-renowned runners, and baseball Hall-of-Famers), and Plimptonian experiential journalism (he has used augmented reality glasses while running and AR goggles while swimming, exercised while wearing as many as four different sensors, and trained with a pocket-sized radar and a smartphone-based biomechanical analysis to raise his fastball to 82 mph.).
There is a strong history of readers devouring books about the intersection of sport and science, including David Epstein’s The Sports Gene and Range, James Nestor’s Breath, Jeff Passan’s The Arm, and Alex Hutchinson’s Endure. THE ATHLETE CODE will attract readers of those books; it will also be required reading for coaches and trainers across sports and levels of competition, as well as for weekend warrior athletes across the country.
Joe Lemire is a reporter for Sports Business Journal, and the country’s only devoted sports technology writer. He began his career with Sports Illustrated as an entry-level reporter, quickly ascending the ranks to become the youngest writer on the magazine’s masthead. He has contributed to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and USA Today, and has appeared regularly on the MLB Network. He specializes in stories that distill complicated concepts into accessible ideas and blend objective research with engaging anecdotes for a thorough and compelling exploration of a topic.