Things are never equal!
No one is saying that there aren't advantages and disadvantages related, race, country, tribe, family genetics, etc., but the advantages are not what make you great and the disadvantages are not what stops you from achieving greatness. Kenya for example has tremendous, depth, their athletes train hard, they compete with confidence and courage, they have strong economic imperatives for succeeding, the young athletes have great role models and a tradition of excellence. Americans are competitive by nature, the U.S. has a great sports traditions, excellent organized systems like the AAU/USATF age group programs, high school and the NCAA. This U.S. has great training facilities, knowledgeable coaches and access excellent medical care and financial support.
No group is advantaged or disadvantaged is a way that makes them instantly great or unable to compete. 30 Years ago the U.S. had more depth in the marathon than Kenya, Kenya made major improvements and the U.S. practically stood still for 30 years. If the U.S. had improved by a modest 10% over 30 years, we would be close to where Kenya is today.
Alberto Salazar made a similar statement to Coach Renato's statement about 8 years ago and AlSl lost a lot of races to Africans.