Fast compared to who, Jamaicans?
Fast compared to who, Jamaicans?
Actually pretty slow..
Kenya:
100 m 10.23 A (+0.8 m/s) Mike Mokamba Nyang'au
Poland: (similar size to Kenya)
100 m 10.00 Marian Woronin
Sweden:
100 m 10.18 Peter Karlsson
Finland:
100 m 10.21 (+0.5 m/s) Tommi Hartonen
Seriously? No Kenyan runner faster than from tiny, frozen Finland?
Metoo wrote:
Are they just taller or?
They work harder than Westerners. The other Africans also work hard, so they do just as well. Westerners are soft. That's why most of the white Americans did not represent their country today at the world championships. They justify it by saying they don't get paid enough, it does not fit their schedules, etc. Meanwhile, the black Americans couldn't wait to represent their country. Also, Africans are not afraid to train in heat and run on hilly courses. Westerners want to run on golf courses or treadmills with neatly-manicured lawns, and they won't leave home without their garmins, fannypacks, hydration belts, oakleys, and $150 shoes - if there is not golf on TV.
A more interesting question is where they all come from.
Why do you assume height? wrote:
100m Olympic gold medalists are taller than the world average height. 800m Olympic gold medalists are slightly taller than world average height. 1500m Olympic gold medalists have an average height of about 5'9". Average height of Olympic gold medalists goes down from there. The average height of Marathon gold medalists is about 5'7". Since 1968 there have been numerous Kenyan gold medalists shorter than 5'9" racing 800m to Marathon. Running is the national sport in Kenya. If t&f were the national sport in USA, USA would produce far more very good runners.
I doubt the U.S. would produce as many world-class runners per-capita. There's more to this and it's been beaten to death on other threads.
Way faster than Ethiopia though...their 100 record is 10.61! That's like Galen Rupp 100 speed!?!
We are not going to eliminate American football baseball and basketball to figure out why USA lost the relative advantage. You cannot state I am wrong. The best you can state is, "There's more to this and it's been beaten to death on other threads." When American football, baseball & basketball didn't pay as well, USA produced better 800m runners than USA does now, relative to the world. USA produced 800m Olympic gold medalists from 1936 to 1956. I responded to OP's initial statement of height. Kenyan height is irrelevant.
When did I state you are wrong? I gave my opinion of doubt.
Thousands of years of natural selection to adapt to the conditions in the rift valley. It just so happens that those adaptations are prefect for distance running.
letsrunnnz wrote:
They arent particularly fast its just that everyone else has slowed down
Why has everyone else slowed down?
Also, that running to school stuff doesn't matter that much. I have a buddy from college who was Kenyan and he was chubby guy who had never run before. Like 6 feet tall, 210 pounds of mostly fat. He decides to start running to get in decent shape. Within a year he runs 2:50's at Chicago. This is off of maybe 45-60 minutes a day just easy running. Once he started losing the weight you could see he was naturally well built for a runner. High calves and a nice smooth stride. Didn't have much time to train after that due to increased work commitments. Still, I wonder what his potential ceiling was. It's definitely the genetics though.
You went to college? Did they teach you at your college to make analysis of a large population based on a sample of ONE.
There are many factors but one very important characteristic is great biomechanical and metabolic economy/efficiency:
Yes I did go to college. I am a genius and you are an idiot!
Metoo wrote:
Are they just taller or?
It's just like saying, why are most Americans fat? We live around that atmosphere. Fast food everywhere. In Kenya it's either run to make a living & make your dreams come true or live a miserable life. Compare the heritage, ethnics, & morals.
Yeah, and everyone else apparently evolved from them and the ones who settled Europe and Asia, and eventually spreading throughout North and South America ten to fifteen thousand years ago, are the ones who travelled long, long distances in search of food. Wouldn't the natural distance runners tend to be the long distance travellers? This is a cultural thing plus altitude, not a natural ability question. Lots of thin, active people in countries with a lot of so-called medium altitude spots, and a long tradition of distance running, plus a lot of incentive. The Robertsons moved to Kenya and "coincidentally" are two of the few non-Africans to run 60 flat or better. They have fantastic training groups there with dirt roads, 7k altitude (or even higher in Ethiopia) and big-time incentive. There are pockets of specific athletic dominance in various sports all over the world and certainly within the U.S. as well.
evolution duuuude wrote:
Thousands of years of natural selection to adapt to the conditions in the rift valley. It just so happens that those adaptations are prefect for distance running.
Wilson Kipsang grew up across the street from his school, wore shoes every day, ran no more as a youngster than I did. After graduating high school, he worked a sedentary job for a few years until he got inspired to take up running.
Within a decade he set the world record in the marathon.
toosoft wrote:
Metoo wrote:Are they just taller or?
They work harder than Westerners. The other Africans also work hard, so they do just as well. Westerners are soft. That's why most of the white Americans did not represent their country today at the world championships. They justify it by saying they don't get paid enough, it does not fit their schedules, etc. Meanwhile, the black Americans couldn't wait to represent their country. Also, Africans are not afraid to train in heat and run on hilly courses. Westerners want to run on golf courses or treadmills with neatly-manicured lawns, and they won't leave home without their garmins, fannypacks, hydration belts, oakleys, and $150 shoes - if there is not golf on TV.
The only thing that I wear on that list is a garmin watch and I don't like to watch golf
Seriously at this point anyone arguing that's it's genetics is failing an IQ test.
That was supposed to say anyone who argues it's NOT genetics ...