Championship DNA courses through Taylor Phinney’s 6-foot-4 frame.

His father remains the leader in race victories by an American, with more than 300. He was the first American to win a road stage of the Tour de France. At the 1984 Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the team time trial.

Taylor’s mother was 14 when she finished seventh in the 1,500-meter speedskating event at the 1972 Olympics. At the University of California, she became a national champion in rowing. She won the gold medal in the debut of Olympic women’s road cycling in 1984, 10 months after marrying Phinney

It is a pretty remarkable story -- about "perfect" genetics (this was written days before Taylor, son of two Olympians, broke records to qualify the country and himself for these Olympics) and how imperfect those genetics can be (his father is ravaged by early onset Parkinsons).

If you have healthy parents, would you trade them for Legendary Healthy parents with a chance of early decay, and a chance to be a world-class athlete?

For the Phinney Family, a Dream and a Challenge - New York Times