Japan's Kazuto Iizawa runs #2 1500 time in Japanese history - Guess the time (video)

Go outside and get some fresh air.

where would a report on this post go? to the person who posted it?

Your naive arguments about genetics only weaken the arguments about genetic determinism.

There is seriously nothing from this that prove that they focus on the marathon because they are better at marathon than the 1500, and not the other way around.

So is it racist to say East Africans are genetically predisposed to be great distance runners? Or that West Africans are more predisposed to be great sprinters than people from South America?

Statistically speaking, the vast majority of the top 100 sprinters of all time based on PR are not Caucasian males. Does that make me racist for stating objective data?

Some people these days are just too sensitive and quick to call the racist card.

The top 20 sprinters of all time in the 100m dash have zero Caucasian men. One Asian man.

Marcel Jacobs is not Caucasian.

worldathletics.org

100 Metres - men - senior - all

Link:worldathletics.org/records/all-time-to...

Is World Athletics racist for providing objective data?

issue is, you're looking at these names like they're numbers and not people with histories that preceded them. not saying it makes you racist. just saying it makes you short-sighted. there's a reason the vast majority of top sprint times happen to come from people with deep histories in the western hemisphere

When you make a claim that athletic performance in one event is better because of genetics, you need to show some scientific evidence or study that demonstrates this. Performance data by itself doesn't prove causation.

My god your embarrasing Rojo.

Japan now has a 17-year-old high schooler running 1:46. Their sprinters/hurdlers are good. Their distance guys are decent 10K and up. So it’s probably just a matter of time until these 800/1500/5000 times will get destroyed a la Tanaka on the womens side:

worldathletics.org

Ko OCHIAI | Profile | World Athletics

Ko OCHIAI, Japan - 800 Metres, 1500 Metres, 600 Metres, 3000 Metres, 1000 Metres

Link:worldathletics.org/athletes/japan/ko-o...

that's nice, let's get you back to bed grandpa

Yep. One more thing Rojo's apparently incapable of processing, cuz it conflicts with his DEEP-seated prejudices.

They've figured out in the last few years that they can actually run some very good times in the 100, after convincing themselves for decades that they weren't capable.

It's just a matter of time till they start putting up some excellent times in the 8 and 15, too.

Never have I encountered anyone (aside from, ya know, a klansman) as pathologically obsessed with race as Rojo is.

The guy desperately needs to get help.

No? I think Coevett and rekrunner are more obsessed 🤔

Why don't we complain about how the Japanese public doesn't care about track? We hear this crap about America and Eugene. Not even family or friends show up to watch running in Japan, yet it is a national sport on par with baseball and sumo.

Wow. Literally thought “probably slow-ish like a 3:35” before scrolling down to your reveal of the time. Not surprised given that I’ve never seen a male Japanese 1500 runner in finals ever.

I don't know why it enrages people for me to state something so obvious - genetics are a big deal in running. I mean in your own running you know it's true. A 14:15 collegian doesn't think, "If only I'd worked harder I would have run 12:45 and won NCAAs."

But if we apply it to a whole country of people for some reason, people freak out.

stop

Agreed. What hope is there that this site will ever shed its reputation as a cesspool if one of its proprietors puts out a thread like this? So demoralizing

It's obviously correct that rojo's post is not a logical proof of a genetic explanation, but I also think that those who so oppose rojo's theory should articulate and defend their own theory of why Japanese men in particular have such comparatively weak times in mid-distance rather than just criticize his.

(I think Conner Mantz is a good example of the phenomenon. He is the #1 US marathoner right now. He would be #20 marathoner in Japan, per the road to paris list. In contrast, Mantz is probably around 5th-10th best 5k and 10k runner in the U.S. He would probably be #1 or #2 in Japan in both). Whatever the cause, it's a very interesting phenomenon.

I do think those who say that it's simply because Japanese emphasize marathon + distance don't understand how much Japan loves the Olympics and how huge of an incentive there is for a Japanese man to excel in the 1500 / 800, both in terms of prestige and financial incentives. Japanese media follows Japanese olympians with 100x the passion and interest as the America.

So do you think that Japanese are uniquely better suited to the marathon than a billion Chinese? Or Koreans? All of whom are very closely related genetically.

Or maybe, just maybe, there's also an environmental/cultural effect.