What is new in any of this? We've studied East African dominance of distance running for decades and everything they mentioned in this article is pretty much self-evident. There's no magic elixir; genetics, diet, environment and willingness to work hard make all the difference.
None of this mentioned is a fact. Many years ago a Danish/ Swedish scientific study found out no significant difference at two reference groups of Danish / Kenyan 17 aged youngsters, except one thing, the longinated lower legs on the Kenyans giving energy savings during the running phase.
What does that even mean, "during the running phase"? The whole thing is the running phase.
What is new in any of this? We've studied East African dominance of distance running for decades and everything they mentioned in this article is pretty much self-evident. There's no magic elixir; genetics, diet, environment and willingness to work hard make all the difference.
I think there is a magic elixr and it's called EPO.
What is new in any of this? We've studied East African dominance of distance running for decades and everything they mentioned in this article is pretty much self-evident. There's no magic elixir; genetics, diet, environment and willingness to work hard make all the difference.
I think there is a magic elixr and it's called EPO.
Or maybe you just can't accept that people from the impoverished hinterlands of Africa put our best first-world-privileged athletes to shame on a daily basis.
What is new in any of this? We've studied East African dominance of distance running for decades and everything they mentioned in this article is pretty much self-evident. There's no magic elixir; genetics, diet, environment and willingness to work hard make all the difference.
I think there is a magic elixr and it's called EPO.
There are many magic elixers. Nandrolone worked for Shelby. Testosterone and L-Cartinine worked for Rupp, Centro, Farrah, Hasay, and Hassan.
Who knows what ElG and Bekele we're on.
Despite the assumed, questionable, and actual known doping, Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes still dominate. ...Just as Black athletes American, Jamaican, or other from West African descent dominate sprints and jumps.
Scientists are closer to pinning down why the world’s best marathon runner is so good
Explanations about Kenyans
Researchers propose a series of explanations for the outstanding success of Kenya’s elite athletes in general. Some experts attribute their prowess to favorable physiological characteristics. Such characteristics include, among others, maximal oxygen uptake, higher ability of the body to convert certain fats to energy, particularly during prolonged periods, and the ability to efficiently consume oxygen. Sports scientists like myself have also linked their success to their diet, which is typically high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Their protein intake matches that of other elite athletes. Generally, the staple diets of Kenyan runners include ugali (stiff porridge made from maize or millet flour), green leafy vegetables, milk, kidney beans, and eggs. Genetic makeup is another factor. But studies have been unable to prove that Kenyan athletes are genetically adapted towards distance running. One thing that does work to their advantage, however, is the fact most of them were born and raised at high altitude. The body produces more and bigger red blood cells at high altitude. This increases oxygen delivery to the muscles and boosts performance. Another factor to consider in analyzing the dominance of Kenya’s athletes is the long distances they ran to and from school as children—often up to 10 km one way. Many of them also engaged in daily physical activities such as farming, herding animals, and fetching firewood and water. Experts believe that this led to the development of high aerobic capacity which means that their bodies take in more oxygen and use it more efficiently to generate energy. Finally, some researchers have suggested that Kenya’s long-distance runners have a psychological and social advantage because they now see themselves as unbeatable on the global stage. This psycho-social edge over other long-distance runners has developed among Kenyan runners because they have an aura of invincibility, both in their own and their opponents’ minds.
None of this mentioned is a fact. Many years ago a Danish/ Swedish scientific study found out no significant difference at two reference groups of Danish / Kenyan 17 aged youngsters, except one thing, the longinated lower legs on the Kenyans giving energy savings during the running phase.
What does that even mean, "during the running phase"? The whole thing is the running phase.
Just a pseudo fancy way of saying that the longer legs on the Kenyans make them better runners.
You get all that stuff mentioned in the OP and then stuff it into a body that weighs 10kgs less than your average Western distance runner, and you get far better running economy, especially at distances from 10k and up.
You get all that stuff mentioned in the OP and then stuff it into a body that weighs 10kgs less than your average Western distance runner, and you get far better running economy, especially at distances from 10k and up.
It’s got to be more than just smaller bodies, like bodies smaller relative to their heart and lung size for example, and muscle/fat and muscle fiber type composition etc. Horses and ostriches are larger than and can outrun most humans over pretty much any distance. Very small bodies like cats and dogs as well as very large ones like elephants and rhinos tend to be both sub-optimal for distance running economy, so there seems to be a sweet spot at a broad range of in-between sizes.
The reason Kenyans and other East Africans have dominated distance running has more to do with Economics than Genetics. Incentives matter, and they have outsized incentives.
I think there is a magic elixr and it's called EPO.
Or maybe you just can't accept that people from the impoverished hinterlands of Africa put our best first-world-privileged athletes to shame on a daily basis.
It's a shame that they seem to be getting popped on a daily basis.
The reason Kenyans and other East Africans have dominated distance running has more to do with Economics than Genetics. Incentives matter, and they have outsized incentives.
Incentives are a very good reason to dope. And they do.
so do yall think half-kenyan americans devan and darius kipyego are doping or did they get all their talent from their presumably white mother
Just looked up his profile and he is 20 YO and pbs of 1:47 and 3:56. Is this supposed to prove that Kenyans are the master race when it comes to running?? And maybe they are doping. And maybe the fact that they are half-Kenyan led them and others to pidgeonhole themselves as distance runners growing up?
The African runners are not superior. They are just so many and some of them very talented.They in most cases don't run for the fun and health but to survive and support family. And some of them are lucky to have very good coaches like me. 😉🧙♂️🇸🇪
I also think money has something to do with it. For a Kenyan the $5000.00 they can make in a road race will set them up comfortably for years. For an American you'd pay the rent and have enough money left over for a month comfortably.
$5000 could do some good, but it won't set up anyone in Kenya comfortably for years. You're just pulling stuff out of your I don't know what.
It's absolutely nothing to do with genetics. Scientists have gone looking for an "East African gene" that might explain their success in distance running. They've found literally nothing. There's quite a few papers on this so the evidence is not in dispute. Genetics may matter individually, but it's not exclusive to East Africans (e.g. Paula Radcliffe is a genetic freak, so is Grant Fisher). So, we can rule out genetics straight away.
The more likely explanations come down to three factors:
1. Living and training at altitude - yes, western runners will do altitude camps, but this can't compare with living at altitude permanently and doing all your workouts there. So many western runners go to altitude for two months but then drive to sea level to do "key workouts". African runners aren't doing this
2. Financial incentives - prize money matters to African runners. Almost none get decent sponsorship deals so they depend on prize money to survive and thrive. That's also why they prioritise road racing where there is consistently decent prize money e.g. random 10k races in the US have prize money of $8-10k, how many track races have that sort of prize money? Pretty much only DLs.
3. Culture - quite simply, when East Africans look around to see what sporting success looks like for people in their countries, they see distance runners. This happens all over the world. New Zealanders aren't genetically predisposed to be great rugby league players. Canadians aren't genetically predisposed to be great hockey players. Americans aren't genetically predisposed to be great basketball or baseball players. But those sports are culturally important in those countries. Why is Japan such a good marathon running nation but terrible at mid-d compared to somewhere like the UK? Marathon running is culturally important in Japan but in the UK, track success is most often associated with mid-d events. In most of the rest of the world it's football that dominates, and that siphons off most of the great athletic talent in those countries.
Just please stop with the genetics. If your country is not succeeding at a sport, it isn't because you lost the genetic lottery.
I'm sure if Americans/Europeans/Oceanians would have a few more Ryan Halls born and raised at altitude grow up to be mature healthy adults at 100-110 pounds, we would see better performances joining Kenyan/East African ranks.