This study aimed at investigating the process of development of athletics talents from the State of Paraná, based on Bronfenbrenner (1992, 1995, 1996) ecological systems theory. The bioecological paradigm, person – process – context – time, was the study model. The personal form of the subjects, a semi-structured interview, the research diary, and other documents were used for data collecting. Athletics talents (14), some of their relatives (13), technicians (7), directors of Sport Paraná (3), and a sport secretary were subjects of this study. The categorial content analysis was used for data interpretation, by means of cuts enumeration, and categories. Concerning the involvement with motor activities, we observed that during the stimulation phase the experiences with varied activities were predominant; in the learning phase several sportive modalities were initiated; in the practice phase athletics was characterized as the most desirable modality; and during the specialization phase, the talents dedicated themselves only to athletics. The findings led us to the following conclusions: a) the long way towards the development of each talent is a unique process, closely related to the training process during several years, depending on administrative structures; b) the experiences in the different phases of the motor specialization process are related to the talent’s interest and motivation. The evidences showed that talent is a personal competence reached in the sportive environment, based on physical and psychological characteristics that allow the athletes to obtain a high efficiency considering the athletics modality.