chuggalug wrote:
"Genetics wins"
And culture.
You can't put in what is not there in the first place.
Americans are on average too big. That's genetics. We have a culture that eschews total commitment. That's society.
We have a school culture that ignores and belittles any sport, bar the football basketball crew.
Our best bet is to kidnap orphans from war torn Africa. Put them on a treadmill and barely feed them.
I am not saying culture plays no role, but I think people overestimate the drive of the East Africans and underestimate the competitive drive of westerners. Yes, when running success literally = putting food on the table, sure, advantage East Africans. HOWEVER....
1) there have been plenty of very successful East African runners who came from backgrounds that were not dirt poor, and they could have had a pretty good life without running. so, it's not always a case of running is the only means to put food on the table, and..
2) why do so many of the great east africans continue to run amazing years after they've made a fortune? Shouldn't their drive sag at the point? look at Geb: rich beyond his wildest dreams, lots of other great things in his life, but he keeps on putting up incredible times. So the $ motivation is not the main explanation, but it helps
3) people underestimate western competitive drive to succeed, especially at sports. You can look at all the different sports in the west where there are athletes that literally eat, sleep, live their sports. Lance Armstrong (forget the drugs, that's in fact just more proof of his competitiveness) pushed himself in training and races as hard as any east african EVER, and he wasn't dirt poor (and plenty of other western cyclists have done the same). Look at US swimmers putting in 5 hours a day in the pool. And the list of great western runners or other athletes that have come from comfortable background is long. Hell, there are MID-LEVEL local iron man triathletes with full time jobs in this country that train longer and "harder" than some east african runners! The drive to be the BEST is very strong in western society, no matter your background.
My point is: the simple drive to win, and succeed, and become the best in your sport can be as strong a motivation to push oneself as simply doing it to make a better life for oneself.
But no amount of drive, desire, and pushing oneself is going to beat a hard-working athlete who is simply much more talented. It's just that simple.