That moment when you remember "research ability" is largely network and connections, the ability to be accepted in a certain social space and build research teams that editors will seek to do favors for based on said network and connections.
Why all the NBA examples, and no gold examples...oh right Tiger Woods. It's not just the pipeline, it's the fact that publishing in top journals is about fit just as much as "research ability." Same reason for few Blacks at MD level or up on Wall Street. And Wall Street as made more progress than Finance academia...how do we explain that?
The delusion of a talent based meritocracy to pubs and citations is asinine.