Zola Budd's daughter--talk about genetics! Wow.

SlowPlop wrote:

Funny, because I was a lousy 27:00 8k guy in college and my daughter has beaten Lisa Pieterse in at least 3 races in the last couple of years- and they are the same age. I was feeling pretty good about my genetics beating Zola's. Now if I had some decent training I'm almost certain I would have been a sub 24 guy.

Mitochondria comes from your wife, not you.

SlowPlop wrote:

Funny, because I was a lousy 27:00 8k guy in college and my daughter has beaten Lisa Pieterse in at least 3 races in the last couple of years- and they are the same age. I was feeling pretty good about my genetics beating Zola's. Now if I had some decent training I'm almost certain I would have been a sub 24 guy.

.

Children are not clones of their parents....so don't expect to see the same exact abilities.

The girl in second place... Benjamin???

You don't think maybe Zola taught her everything she knows?

Nothing genetic about it. If your parent is an expert at something, you've got an excellent chance of being even better than them, even if you're adopted.

SMJO wrote:

Mitochondria comes from your wife, not you.

Mitochondria is not the only thing that contributes to running.

SMJO wrote:

Let's talk about the genes a kid would get if Liz McColgan procreated with another elite. Would that kid have an edge at getting to the Olympics?

Until there's actually a gene discovered that contributes to running, no one knows.

9th grade times from athletic.net

Lisa Pieterse 1600m 5:45.08

Mary Cain 1 mile 4:46.91

If running is 100% genetic (it isn't), Pieterse's in trouble (as is the OP if he/she thinks this is major genetic talent).

Like Dough Stanhope said - most of the olympic sports are stupid. Might as well just have a contest to see who's the tallest. Oh you were born with genes to be the tallest, you win!

kdidi wrote:

SMJO wrote:

Let's talk about the genes a kid would get if Liz McColgan procreated with another elite. Would that kid have an edge at getting to the Olympics?

Until there's actually a gene discovered that contributes to running, no one knows.

Genes.

How's that Chi running and raw diet working for you?

SMJO wrote:

How's that Chi running and raw diet working for you?

I don't do either of those things. Why are you asking?

kdidi wrote:

SMJO wrote:

How's that Chi running and raw diet working for you?

I don't do either of those things. Why are you asking?

Because you are one of those people who is convinced that stuff like that will usurp the genetic component.

SMJO wrote:

kdidi wrote:

I don't do either of those things. Why are you asking?

Because you are one of those people who is convinced that stuff like that will usurp the genetic component.

I never said I was convinced that stuff like that will usurp the genetic component. What are you talking about?

Of course there's no genetic component to running. That's why everyone on Letsrun could easily run a 10.3 100 with a little training.

Ho Hum wrote:

Of course there's no genetic component to running. That's why everyone on Letsrun could easily run a 10.3 100 with a little training.

Why do you think it would only take a little training if there's no genetic component?

Well Bolt didn't train hard as a junior, and look at the times he ran at 16. So if there's no genetic component, we should be able to train the same way and get the same results, right?

Ho Hum wrote:

Well Bolt didn't train hard as a junior, and look at the times he ran at 16. So if there's no genetic component, we should be able to train the same way and get the same results, right?

How do you know he didn't train hard as a junior? And why would the same training work equally for everyone?

Bolt has said so several times.

If genetics doesn't play a role, then why wouldn't we have the same response to training assuming good sleep and nutrition?

You can't say that running is 100% genetic yet, you'd need every able bodied person on the planet to train seriously for ten years to suss it out, but we know environment is the major factor....see here where she a little about her environment growing up:

http://athleticsillustrated.com/interviews/zola-budd-2/

As has been noted on this site, David Epstein of Sports Illustrated recently wrote a book called "The Sports Gene" dealing with the issue of genetics in sports success and what current science says about it. There really is not a single simple answer to the question.

Here's an interview with Epstein about the book:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/the-urgency-and-the-challenge-of-connecting-sports-race-and-genetics/278345/

and this was Rojo's review:

http://www.letsrun.com/news-erik/2013/07/sports-gene-by-david-epstein-a-must-read-for-all-coaches/

I highly recommend the book also.