Renato, the argument from numbers is not a good one.
Take this example: There are 30 million people in Kenya. They have, by all accounts, DOMINATED EVERY ASPECT of distance running for over a decade, from 800m to the marathon, setting WR's and winning every title possible.
Take the rest of the world. In the rest of the world, besides Kenya, there are 6.6 billion people. From this we have some good Ethiopians, Ugandans, the rare European or American, but of the remaining 6.6 billion people in the world, all of them PUT TOGETHER, EVEN WITH OTHER AFRICANS, Kenya's 30 million defeats 6.6 billion.
In all the world we have millions upon millions of runners, people with good conditions and all else.
But Kenya is the standard bearer despite all the numbers against them. Why?
So for China, with 1 billion, that does not mean a 29:31 female is explainable.
All the European countries combined with Australia, America, and the South Americas have not found a runner to beat Bekele or Sihine. But shouldn't they, having billions among them?
And a hallmark of performance enhancing drug abuse is the ability to RECOVER FROM HARDER training.
Renato, I agree with your philosophy on drugs.
When I read these boards, and see so many incompetent idiots accusing every good runner of using drugs, it is abhorrent. The most part of runners are hard working, talented, and clean. There is no doubt.
But, until you, I no NOBODY who believes Wang Junxia's record is clean!
When I watch a women's distance race on American television, we have commentators Larry Rawson and Dwight Stones.
Often before the start of these races, say a 5,000 or a 10,000, a little box pops up showing the World Record and the fastest time of the year.
Rawson or Stones will mention it and INVARIABLY DISMISS IT AS DRUG AIDED!
There is almost no question among those in track and field.
The athletes themselves have plenty of stories.
What do you think also, of the following things, if they are coincidences?:
1. All these phenomenal world records were all run in Beijing, China, within that single country. China is a closed nation, communist, and sources of media are not easily disseminated to the rest of the world. All the records, (1500, 3000, 5000, and 10,000) were completed in a short period in 1993 over 5 days at the Chinese Trials. Never again did any of these athletes approach these performances.
2. You said yourself Wang was 20. How can someone peak at 20? She runs 29:31 at 20, and never again runs faster? Do you not see a suspicion in this?
3. What of Ma's purported dietary regimens for his runners? "Turtle blood" was really used as a "supplement"?
This shows Ma and the Chinese athletes had no fear of ingesting foreign susbtances into their body to improve performance.
4. Wang's 29:31.78: THE SECOND HALF 5,000 METERS IN 14:26!!!
We have great Ethiopian women today, unimaginably talented, running a fastest EVER WORLD RECORD of 14:24.
Abeyglesse, Defar, T. Dibaba, E. Dibaba, Adere, Tulu, Wami, and ONLY ONE OF THEM RAN FASTER EVER THAN WHAT WANG DID IN THE SECOND HALF!
How is that possible? Would you NOT suspect a record in the men's 10,000m, if some mysterious athlete from China or another closed country, in their own trials on an unmeasured track ran 25:52 for 10,000m with a second 5,000m in 12:40?
Would you believe this record? (13:12/12:40)?
The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.
Photographs of Wang do not reveal any especially obvious ANDROGYNOUS characteristics. She was thin and small-framed, very much a female.
The Eastern Bloc European females of the 1970's who used steroids resembled males. Jarmila Kratochvilova looked like a man. Wang looks like a woman.
Another big point: DRUGS ARE FAR MORE EFFECTIVE FOR WOMEN THAN THEY ARE FOR MEN! Men already have good levels of testosterone and hormones responsible for maintaining muscular activity and masculine characteristics (androgen, etc.).