Chess players have a reputation for having a terrific memory, though some studies have suggested that their memory is tied to their domain rather than being powerful across the board. (The test where strong players were given absurd chess "positions" to memorize, and where they performed only slightly better than club players and novices, doesn't strike me as a refutation. It does show that an experienced player's chess memory works in a certain way, but if there are multiple mental/brain systems involved in memory it does little to show that the best players' general memory skills are no better than those of an ordinary cross-section of the population.)
At any rate, there are interesting and similar stories about the memories of elite performers in other activities. Here's a story about NBA superstar LeBron James's memory - both in general and for basketball. Here's a clip of him showing off his basketball memory, followed by comments by Draymond Green (another major NBA star) and Steve Kerr (a former NBA player and current coach of the Golden State Warriors). What's especially interesting is that while both Green and Kerr are impressed, they take that sort of memory as par for the course (with some variability) for top players.
The chicken, or the egg?