Mindstupidweak, you write so many bullshits that it’s difficult to think you can be testimonial of the theory of evolution, because you didn’t have any evolution, and probably monkeys have more brain than you.
However, because some answer to the basic question can be interesting for many posters (or course not for you, that have the arrogance and the presumption to speak about something you don’t know absolutely anything), I can explain something about the athletic history of Kenya and Ethiopia, premise for understanding the reasons of what happened in the last 25 years.
A) The differences between the two Countries.
There are big differences between Kenya and Ethiopia, due to their history.
Ethiopia is the bigger part of the old Abyssinia, a region including also Eritrea and part of Somalia, that was an important component of the Ethiopian Empire. Italy decided to invade Abyssinia in 1935 ; the Italian colonialism lasted 6 years only, since in 1941 a combined reaction from Ethiopian rebels and the UK forces was able to end the war.
During those 6 years of colonialism, the Italian Army had a special branch, formed by the Eritrean Askari. Askari were soldiers, the most part coming from Eritrea, but some of them from Ethiopia too, fighting together the official Italian Army. All the Askari were part of the Infantry, and for being recruited (they were paid by the Italian Government) had to succeed in a test including running for 60 km without stopping.
This kind of attitude was traditional quality of people of Abyssinia, and when in 1956, for the first time, Ethiopia decided to open at some sport for improving the imagine of the Country, of course the first goal was to look at Marathon.
In 1956 Ethiopia sent to Melbourne Olympics only the relay 4x400m, last in the heats in 3’36†(54†average for every 400m), something for being present at Olympics only. In that team, one of the components was Mamo Wolde, who several years later became Olympic Champion in Marathon.
In 1960, there was more preparation, and finally Ethiopians could participate in their main event : the Marathon. Abebe Bikila, totally unknown and running barefoot, won the only marathon carried out by night, bettering the WR with 2:15:16, and repeated his victory (this time with shoes) in 1964, winning in Tokyo with the new WR again (2:12:11).
In 1968, the Ethiopian tradition continued with Mamo Wolde, who in 1972 won another medal (bronze) in Munich Olympics.
Ethiopians had to wait till 2000 for winning Olympics again : this happened with Gezahegne Abera, who the next years became World Champion in Edmonton.
About the women competitions, in 1996 we had the Ethiopian gold with Fatuma Roba, before winning in 2012 with Tiki Gelana.
In Kenya, the situation was completely different. Kenyans didn’t have any tradition in long run, their mind and their motivation was in cross country, and competitions of 800m, 1500m, 5000m and steeple.
The first Kenyan running Olympics in Marathon was Philip Ndoo in 1964, finishing the race in position 64.
We have to wait till 1987 for finding two marathon runners of international level, both training abroad : Douglas Wakiihuri, winner of World Championships in Rome, living and training in Japan, and Ibrahim Hussein, student in the New Mexico University in Albuquerque, who won NY in 1987, and 3 times Boston, starting from 1988.
Ibrahim Hussein went in the University as runner of 1500m and steeple, and changed his event in 1985, running his first marathon in Honolulu.
Before 2000, there was only another Kenyan able to win a medal in Olympics : Erick Wainaina, who won bronze in Atlanta 1996 and silver in Sydney 2000, who, such as Wakiihuri, was a technical product of Japan.
The interest for marathon started in 1992, when the Italian dr. Gabriele Rosa went Kenya (his first time was in 1991) and had the idea to “teach†a basic training for long distances to some of the best athletes of the Country, starting with Moses Tanui, World Champion of 10000m in 1991.
Rosa found another great champion in 1992 (Paul Tergat), and spent several years working on a change of mentality for some of the best athletes on the track.
But the biggest impact of Rosa was not only under the technical aspect, but under the organization and the investment of money in training camps, when Kenyan Federation never invested any shilling for developing the athletes. Rosa was able to involve different sponsors in the project, arriving to invest in Kenya million dollars, to have under control more than 400 athletes, and changing the life of many families, because the most part of athletes were able to win money enough for building new houses and improving the quality of their lives.
B) The main reason of the jump of quality of the next 15 years.
Till 2005, track could produce good money for the best athletes. Many organizers could use a budget of 20,000 – 25,000 USD for the pacers of one event, when the idea (and the possibilities) was to attack a WR.
This happened in 1500m more frequently, because, from 1985, we had athletes like Aouita, Cram and Coe able running under 3’30â€, and after that period the era of “mahgreb†started, with Morceli before, with El Guerrouj later.
At that times, every race was paced at WR speed : till 1200m for 1500m and Mile, till 3000m for 5000m, till 5000m for 10000m, till 1800-2000m for steeple. When the pacers finished their job, the athlete looking at WR became the best pacer for all the other competitors.
This can explain the great number of performances under 13’ and under 27’, all in competitions where the best athlete had incentives for running fast (if not WR, time bonuses).
So, there was not any need, for the best athletes, to move to Marathon, because at the end of a season the total income of one athlete in top 10 on track, competing many times, was the same of the best marathon runners.
But, after that year, the global budget for track meetings decreased very quickly, and now is less than 1/3 of the total budget of 10 years ago.
This provoked not only a decrease of the prizes in top competition (for example, the prize for the winner of events in Diamond League decreased from 15,000 Euros (plus appearance) in 2005 to the current 10,000 USD), but also the cancellation of a lot of meetings of high level, that before could offer chances of good competitions (as technical results and prizes) for the main part of the season.
At the same time, the number of Marathons in the world became, year after year, very much more consistent. Now there is no Country in the World without some important Marathon, because everybody looks at the big number of runners that is possible to put together.
In the most important marathons (but not only), the runners, with the financial amount of their entries, are the one producing the most part of money used for organizing the race, including prizes and appearances for the champions, who are one of the reasons because amateurs choice one marathon or another, having at the end the satisfaction to run “with†one of the top in the World.
What happens now ? Strong African runners look directly at Marathon, skipping the period of preparation and competition on track, since they have to find a situation able to produce money for increasing the quality of their lives.
Posters of LR must know the big differences there are between African athletes and European or American athletes : African don’t have any support from their Federations, the contract with technical Company is 10 times smaller than the contract of an American with the same performance, the cost for the organizers is higher because of the distance (so, when possible, organizers are not interested in African runners of high level, but not really top), and the only opportunity is TO RUN FAST.
If you are a newcomer among Kenyan runners, and you go to Iten, or Kaptagat (where there is the biggest number of top runners), and you join a group of marathon runners, frequently without an official coach, but organized by some top athlete, the first, and only, athletics that you know is the one at top level.
You know that training is very hard two or three times per day, you know that have to run very fast, you know that have to enhance the threshold of pain and sufferance if want to become a winner, you don’t have mental limits because you don’t know anything about athletics, and are not conditioned by the idea that “it’s not possible running under 2:10 without dopingâ€, when you live together with examples able running 2:04 or better using their strength only, in clean way.
In this picture, of course there are exceptions, but exceptions are not the rule, how people thinking everybody is doped suppose.
In 1990, we had, maybe, 20 Kenyans running Marathon. In 2017, we have in Iten about 1,000 runners, of different level, and 980 of them look at Marathon.
In 1990, there were two managers only (Kim McDonald and John Bicourt). Now, there are several top management, that are the only organization investing money for developing athletes, since till now the Federation didn’t do anything in this direction.
In 1990, technical Companies had few contracts with Kenyan runners, the most part for equipment only. Now, Nike and Adidas, and in part also Mizuno, New Balance and Asics, have a good group of athletes under contract, many of them with some money too.
At the same time, Europe quitted to produce a good number of top athletes in disciplines like 5000, 10000m, steeple and Marathon.
If we look at steeple, for example, we can see how 41 years ago Anders Garderud was already able running 8’08†in the Olympic final in Montreal, and behind him Malinowski under 8’10†and Baumgartl under 8’11â€. In WCh 1987 in Rome Francesco Panetta won in 8’08†losing not less than 2†in the last 100m for his celebration with the spectators, almost jogging till the end after destroying the best Kenyans.
In 1978, European Championships in Prague, in 10000m the athlete number 9 (Knut Kvahleim from Norway) ran 27’41â€, better than the number 9 of today at the end of a full season. Athletes like Fernando Mamede and Carlos Lopes were able to run 10000m in 27’13†(WR) and 27’17â€, when now the best Portuguese is more near 29’ than 28’.
In Olympic Marathon, the winners were from Portugal (Carlos Lopes in 1984), Italy (Gelindo Bordin 1988), Korea (Hwang in 1992), South Africa (Thugwane 1996). In Chicago, European white athletes, such as Steve Jones, were able running COMPLETELY ALONE in 2:07:13 in 1985, after a HM in 61’43†without rabbits. Where are now the best marathon runners of those Countries ?
So, we have to see at the problem under two opposite point of view : the reasons because the number of African runners of medium-high level raised so much, and the reasons because the number of runners in the other Countries (including US, if we speak about Marathon) became so small.
About my situation with Kenya, for your knowledge, I went the first time in that Country at the end of 1998, when I was the Technical Scientific Director of Italian Federation. The reason because I went Kenya was not for making money (for myself or for some management), but for understanding why they were the best in the World. I already was the coach of some Kenyan living in Italy for many months every year (the best was Jonah Koech, running 13’10†in 5000m and 2:10 in Marathon), and Lecturer of IAAF, with the task to form coaches around the World (for example, I was the Lecturer of the first course for coaches in Latin America, carried out in Quito (Ecuador) in 1998).
For me, the motivation was to study the training of the most part of Kenyans, trying to understand what was possible to transfer from their mentality and their training to the methodology we used, and at the same time what, from our more scientific methodology, could be interesting to include in the classic Kenyan system, in order to improve their performances.
In other words, I went Kenya for learning and for teaching, and at the end I can say I teached WHAT they had to do in training, and I LEARNT the interpretation they gave to what I explained.
In my life, one of the most important motivations I had was to LEARN, every day and from every situation, something new. To understand the reasons of different behaviors, different situations, different reactions, different way of thinking, always was one big stimulus in my life.
Under this point of view, we are at two opposite poles : you don’t want to learn, you don’t understand the reasons because you are not interested to KNOW and to LEARN. You are presumptuous, arrogant and blind. You are clearly a dangerous idiot.