Why are all the fastest runners black?

[Lordbenny]

Is it a genetic thing?

[mickk]

But there no good at swimming so i expect it is a genetic thing

Edited by mickk on Saturday 16th August 22:15

[VladTheDad]

My understanding is as follows. As a generalisation, black people tend to have higher volume of fast twitch muscle and lower body fat - perfect for sprinting. Ultra low body fat is not so good in the pool though because you tend not to be as bouyant. When you then take the most talented atheletes from across the world these small natural advantages make all the difference at the highest level.

[Lordbenny]

VladTheDad said:

My understanding is as follows. As a generalisation, black people tend to have higher volume of fast twitch muscle and lower body fat - perfect for sprinting. Ultra low body fat is not so good in the pool though because you tend not to be as bouyant. When you then take the most talented atheletes from across the world these small natural advantages make all the difference at the highest level.

Thanks Vlad, sounds definitive to me!

[pugwash4x4]

it's enviromental- there was a very interesting program about it recently- there's a fast twitch gene but around 60% of western Europeans have it!

there are some prety quick whiteguys around but i just think they don't have the urge to go sprinting. I went to school with bloke that did 100m in 10.22 without really trying- then he just gave up when he went to Uni. Many of my friends and I could get under 11sec easily.

at one point the quickest bloke over 30m was Jonathen Edwards!

[CLK-GTR]

VladTheDad said:

My understanding is as follows. As a generalisation, black people tend to have higher volume of fast twitch muscle and lower body fat - perfect for sprinting. Ultra low body fat is not so good in the pool though because you tend not to be as bouyant. When you then take the most talented atheletes from across the world these small natural advantages make all the difference at the highest level.

correct. their quadriceps are made up quite differently

all men are not equal after all

[ewenm]

CLK-GTR said:

VladTheDad said:

My understanding is as follows. As a generalisation, black people tend to have higher volume of fast twitch muscle and lower body fat - perfect for sprinting. Ultra low body fat is not so good in the pool though because you tend not to be as bouyant. When you then take the most talented atheletes from across the world these small natural advantages make all the difference at the highest level.

correct. their quadriceps are made up quite differently

all men are not equal after all

Yep, they're at a huge disadvantage for the distance events.

[Dunk76]

ewenm said:

CLK-GTR said:

VladTheDad said:

My understanding is as follows. As a generalisation, black people tend to have higher volume of fast twitch muscle and lower body fat

correct. their quadriceps are made up quite differently

all men are not equal after all

Yep, they're at a huge disadvantage for the distance events.

So how come the Kenyans dominated distance running for so long then?

[ewenm]

Dunk76 said:

ewenm said:

CLK-GTR said:

VladTheDad said:

My understanding is as follows. As a generalisation, black people tend to have higher volume of fast twitch muscle and lower body fat

correct. their quadriceps are made up quite differently

all men are not equal after all

Yep, they're at a huge disadvantage for the distance events.

So how come the Kenyans dominated distance running for so long then?

Completely different physiology between West Africans (great sprinters) and East Africans (great distance runners). This thread was about the west african sprinters.

Edit: the East Africans aren't quite as dominant (Romanian just won the women's marathon, Kenya 2nd, China 3rd) as the West Africans are (or at least those of west african descent).

Edited by ewenm on Sunday 17th August 10:32

[jeevescat]

Dunk76 said:

So how come the Kenyans dominated distance running for so long then?

A lot of Kenya is at quite a high altitude, Nairobi is something like 5000 feet. So if you are used to running marathons at that altitude in those temperatures, competing against us in say the london marathon is a piece of piss.

[bga]

mickk said:

But there no good at swimming so i expect it is a genetic thing

Edited by mickk on Saturday 16th August 22:15

Cullen Jones (US 4x100m relay gold medalist) might disagree

[mickk]

bga said:

mickk said:

But there no good at swimming so i expect it is a genetic thing

Edited by mickk on Saturday 16th August 22:15

Cullen Jones (US 4x100m relay gold medalist) might disagree

I rest my case, one or two maybe

[ewenm]

It's also partly about opportunity. For example, the East African distance runners would have great physiology for distance cycling and yet road racing is dominated by white guys - that's not because the white guys are genetically better for cycling than the Africans but because there is no opportunity to develop as a cyclist in most of Africa.

Similarly with swimming, how many Olympic standard pools and coaches do you think there are in Africa? We've only got a few in Britain!

Running is the sport anyone can do which is why it's so hard to get to the top.

[Chrispy Porker]

Jeff Capes once beat Linford Christie over 30m IIRC.
Speed equals distance in throwing, and a lot of the top throwers are very fast over short distances.
Most of them are white.

[LilPeteMordino]

mickk said:

bga said:

mickk said:

But there no good at swimming so i expect it is a genetic thing

Edited by mickk on Saturday 16th August 22:15

Cullen Jones (US 4x100m relay gold medalist) might disagree

I rest my case, one or two maybe

Although sometime last year I safety boated for a triathalon. And got talking to the only black athelete there. Who mentioned the fact that he expected to do bad in the swimming section because of something to do with the oxygen levels in the blood of black people. Apparently there is less, therefore they sink more making it harder to swim and keep yourself straight.

Not sure how true it is though.