Does muscle fiber type effect performance?

Thanks Wikipedia

So, back to the original question, does muscle fiber type effect your performance?  Sort of.  Most people are usually 55/35.  That means they may be 55% Type II or 55% Type I.  As you can see by the chart, people who are oriented more toward Type II will tend to be better at activities that require short bursts of energy, like powerlifters, strongman competitors, olympic lifters, and sprinters.  On the flip side, people who are oriented towards Type I fibers tend to be better at activities that are aerobic in nature like marathon runners.  That being said, it doesn’t mean that you can’t train an elite powerlifter to run a marathon.  You absolutly can.  It just means they be winning the Boston Marathon anytime soon.  

For field athletes (like soccer and football) it really doesn’t effect whether you’ll be good or not as much as it efftects how you play the game.  Take for example Payton Manning vs. Micheal Vick.  Both are good quaterbacks, but obviously two very different styles of play.  

Manning

Vick

Obviously, two very different styles of play.  Without doing a biopsy, I would be willing to bet that Vick is more Type II oriented than Manning.  So, fiber orientation effects performance in that it dictates the athletes’ style of play.  Peyton can’t play like Vick and vise versa, yet both are elite level quarterbacks. 

The same could be said in other situations.  Look at Jordan vs Bird.  Jordan was explosive, Bird was not.  Both were great basketball players.