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Why Tourette’s May Be Tim Howard’s Secret Weapon on the Field

Speed & Accuracy

Those record 16 saves against Belgium might not have just been sheer athletic ability. Neurologist Oliver Sacks says the syndrome helps give the Team USA goalie ‘abnormal quickness.’

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Lars Baron/FIFA, via Getty

Tim Howard’s astonishing performance as the U.S. goalie in Tuesday’s World Cup game against Belgium shares a neurological component with a case described decades ago by the eminent neurologist Oliver Sacks involving an essentially unbeatable ping-pong player.

articles/2014/07/03/why-tourette-s-may-be-tim-howard-s-secret-weapon-on-the-field/140703-tim-howard-daly-tease-new_gsqxqs

Both Howard and Sacks’ patient have

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