I think it made his lecture even better - he was able to communicate using an anecdote about someone I never heard of, but gave enough context for it to make sense to me. Most people don’t think about this.
Were you familiar with her prior to the lecture?
Did you know what the iconic hands in the air thing meant?
So you definitely have a point.
The point he was making was that talent by itself is insufficient. While presenting her as a case study he gave enough information to convince me that this person clearly was someone with a lot of physical talent. Specifically he mentioned that she was an olympic gymnast and moreover that she wasn't only excellent but one that would routinely get full marks. All the same she was not good at skiing because she lacked knowledge of skiing and practice (in his words the main factors contributors to quality).