There have been quite a few legends at the middle distances who were six foot plus and strong from Jim Ryun, Steve Cram, and John Walker to Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Hicham El Guerrouj. At the longer distances, it seems rarer, but Tergat is another example of a legend who was tall.
Paul Tergat looked tall but was in fact 5.11/1:82, tall but not as tall as many think. I spoke to him once, and at 6.1, I stood quite a bit taller - I admired him for his fluent Italian.
Future monster for sure. I'm impressed that Norway, one of the richest countries in the world, produces all these world-class sportsmen because on an intuitive basis I'm thinking a lot of kids don't necessarily need to get into sports and might end up as couch potatoes but that does not seem to be the case in Norway for all. I'm also thinking, but correct me if I'm wrong, that norwegians and scandinavians in general have big bodies not really suited to distance running.
not too sure about the physiology of Scandinavians but I would assume that with that presumed wealth, Norwegians would have more time to devote themselves to sports and other physical activities all while having the best training and recovery available. I feel like the US is just culturally different in that regard, but ends up compensating with its massive population.
At least within the United States, the best athletes will tend to come from better socioeconomic backgrounds - even in running. Look at the schools that qualify for (and win) NXN each year. The average household incomes for the towns they're in tend to be much higher than average.
There have been quite a few legends at the middle distances who were six foot plus and strong from Jim Ryun, Steve Cram, and John Walker to Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Hicham El Guerrouj. At the longer distances, it seems rarer, but Tergat is another example of a legend who was tall.
Paul Tergat looked tall but was in fact 5.11/1:82, tall but not as tall as many think. I spoke to him once, and at 6.1, I stood quite a bit taller - I admired him for his fluent Italian.
Norge mobsters - Good things happen in Big packets -
"In fact, the Norwegian government recommends that everyone, regardless of age, should consume fish two to three times a week, which equates to about 300-450 grams of fish. Of this, at least 200 grams of fish should be fatty fish, which includes salmon, mackerel, trout or herring."(source: previous link).
One suspects, some readers may increase their fish intake in the coming days. Substitute fish for meat. Having said that, Americans consuming regular quantities of mackerel or herring would seem strange. Those are hardly established American favourites.
Berg came in with 1:53.32 - 3:54.36 bests in the 8 and 15.
Future monster for sure. I'm impressed that Norway, one of the richest countries in the world, produces all these world-class sportsmen because on an intuitive basis I'm thinking a lot of kids don't necessarily need to get into sports and might end up as couch potatoes but that does not seem to be the case in Norway for all. I'm also thinking, but correct me if I'm wrong, that norwegians and scandinavians in general have big bodies not really suited to distance running.
Norwegians are tall and while that might not be an advantage in distance running, I think there are one or two (culturally relevant) things that might be.
Due to the climate a lot of the time you can only be outside if you are moving. So winter sports like skiing and so on are popular.
I do think the Sámi and Kven people would make very good athletes and the best would survive i.e. pass on genes. Just my thoughts.
Future monster for sure. I'm impressed that Norway, one of the richest countries in the world, produces all these world-class sportsmen because on an intuitive basis I'm thinking a lot of kids don't necessarily need to get into sports and might end up as couch potatoes but that does not seem to be the case in Norway for all. I'm also thinking, but correct me if I'm wrong, that norwegians and scandinavians in general have big bodies not really suited to distance running.
Goodness me, these statements are based on assumptions that are not supported by evidence . . . evidence which demonstrates that the success of Norwegian athletes is the result of several factors, including genetics, training, nutrition, and access to resources, rather than simply being a product of the country's wealth. Additionally, having a larger body type does not necessarily preclude one from being a successful distance runner.
Future monster for sure. I'm impressed that Norway, one of the richest countries in the world, produces all these world-class sportsmen because on an intuitive basis I'm thinking a lot of kids don't necessarily need to get into sports and might end up as couch potatoes but that does not seem to be the case in Norway for all. I'm also thinking, but correct me if I'm wrong, that norwegians and scandinavians in general have big bodies not really suited to distance running.
Goodness me, these statements are based on assumptions that are not supported by evidence . . . evidence which demonstrates that the success of Norwegian athletes is the result of several factors, including genetics, training, nutrition, and access to resources, rather than simply being a product of the country's wealth. Additionally, having a larger body type does not necessarily preclude one from being a successful distance runner.
Nutrition, training and access to resources are a product of the country's wealth.
Goodness me, these statements are based on assumptions that are not supported by evidence . . . evidence which demonstrates that the success of Norwegian athletes is the result of several factors, including genetics, training, nutrition, and access to resources, rather than simply being a product of the country's wealth. Additionally, having a larger body type does not necessarily preclude one from being a successful distance runner.
Nutrition, training and access to resources are a product of the country's wealth.
There are now several youngsters in Norway running faster on longer distances than ever before.
There is nothing special to the nutrition, just plain Norwegian old school diet.
The "resources" are not a part of this improvement. Because these runners are still being developed by their clubs. And some are being coached by their parents, and now more than before, these parents have also been athletes in the past. And thus starting to train seriously at a younger age. (Many use lactate meters, though)
And of course the training is a big part. Quite high milage and double threshold is the norm, inspired by Ingebrigtsens, of course.
I don't know if they are "bigger" than average. But within reason, that doesn't really matter so much, as long as their power in their legs is adequate. Watts pr. kilograms is what matters. And for genetics, Norwegians has always loved endurance sports. Long history of 13,20' runners since the 60/70', cross country skiing, biathlon, cycling and so on.
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