I was watching the track and field olympic trials, and noticed that literally everyone competing was black. I googled it to see if I could find any discussion about it, but nothing came up. Without degenerating into “omg he’s racist” comments, does anyone know if there has been any scientific discussion (or study) about this?
I know the Kenyan dominance in long distance was studied and conclusions about calf mass and leg shape contributed to their incredible performance. Just wondering if the same was done with sprinters? Perhaps musculature studies or fast-twitch comparisons or something? Thanks.
On the other hand you don’t really see any oriental runners at olympic levels. It is possible that culture and geographic location may play a part in it. Could explain the lack of black athletes in the winter sports as well. In time I really don’t see that there will be to much difference, drugs will dominate the athletic world.
[quote]msd0060 wrote:
Same thing in basketball and for the most part, almost all of the skills position in football. (except QB)
sup with dat[/quote]
If you check your early basketball history, you will find that the same “conclusions” were made about the ethnic group who dominated the sport at that time: Jewish athletes…
The bottom line is sociological, environmental, & geographical factors; not oversimplified so-called “racial” observations, are the keys explaining this phenom, period…
In regards too the topic i believe during the slave trade they bred the strongest biggest slaves to produce ‘better’ workers…could be due to that or the genetic diversity of african countries apart from what has already been said
Okay. There’s a lot of race-related questions around these boards. As with the other ones, I’ll preface my answer by saying I’m in no way racist, but merely stick to the facts in which my senses can perceive.
What I do see consistantly is that some of the best sprinters in the world are black. Who knows if the whole “fast-twitch extra” discussion is real or not? I know I sure don’t. Blacksnake nailed it pretty well, there a lot of other factors that do go into a topic like this.
Yes, however, it has been my perception that world-class sprinters are generally of African-American descent. Now let me ask you a question: How many black olympic gymnasts (male) do you typically see?
Personally, I don’t see many. Does that have any deep racial implications? I think not. So really, I wouldn’t look too far into the whole matter itself.
[quote]Blacksnake wrote:
msd0060 wrote:
Same thing in basketball and for the most part, almost all of the skills position in football. (except QB)
sup with dat
If you check your early basketball history, you will find that the same “conclusions” were made about the ethnic group who dominated the sport at that time: Jewish athletes…
The bottom line is sociological, environmental, & geographical factors; not oversimplified so-called “racial” observations, are the keys explaining this phenom, period…
[/quote]
Yet amazingly, the athletes of West African origins who have dominated the sprints come from a wide range of sociological, environmental and geographical backgrounds.
These other factors you mentioned may play a role, but genetics is most definitely a huge part of it.
The fact that it makes certain types of people uncomfortable does not make it untrue.
[quote]Blacksnake wrote:
msd0060 wrote:
Same thing in basketball and for the most part, almost all of the skills position in football. (except QB)
sup with dat
If you check your early basketball history, you will find that the same “conclusions” were made about the ethnic group who dominated the sport at that time: Jewish athletes…
The bottom line is sociological, environmental, & geographical factors; not oversimplified so-called “racial” observations, are the keys explaining this phenom, period…
[/quote]
Thats ridiculous to suggest that differences among genetics between the races is at least part of the reason for such variance in athletic performance.
Your basketball reference could be largely due to segregation which didn’t allow African Americans to play. I fail to see how sociological and geographical factors(to some extent) can have a major influence on how fast someone can run or jump.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Okay. There’s a lot of race-related questions around these boards. As with the other ones, I’ll preface my answer by saying I’m in no way racist, but merely stick to the facts in which my senses can perceive.
What I do see consistantly is that some of the best sprinters in the world are black. Who knows if the whole “fast-twitch extra” discussion is real or not? I know I sure don’t. Blacksnake nailed it pretty well, there a lot of other factors that do go into a topic like this.
Yes, however, it has been my perception that world-class sprinters are generally of African-American descent. Now let me ask you a question: How many black olympic gymnasts (male) do you typically see? Personally, I don’t see many. Does that have any deep racial implications? I think not. So really, I wouldn’t look too far into the whole matter itself.[/quote]
Absolutely agree with you there. I can envision gymnastics not being a very popular sport choice in african countries as well as domestically. Black sprinters are among the most impressive physiques in sports.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Yes, however, it has been my perception that world-class sprinters are generally of African-American descent[/quote]
Jamaicans aren’t “African American” and they tend to do pretty well in sprinting.
With regards to your comments about muscle fiber type, I would say that differences in body structure is a bigger factor. Look at the calves and achilles of some black people and compare them to that of some Chinese people.
The average player in the NBA is “ballin’” (playing top level basketball), by the time he is in Elementary School…and by JUNIOR high, is starting to have College AND Pro Scouts look at him.
Why?
By about 4-5 years of age he is living and breathing basketball, from sun-up to sun-down; and playing ball on some of the toughest, and most unforgiving courts in the World; U.S. inner cities.
Skills are practiced and honed…and practiced again.
If anyone of any race puts the amount of time and effort in any endeavor that the average NBA player has all of his Life, they’ll be good at it too.
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
If anyone of any race puts the amount of time and effort in any endeavor that the average NBA player has all of his Life, they’ll be good at it too.[/quote]
He has two gold medals (400M and 4x400M relay), smoked his time trial earlier today, and is the favorite to win the 400M in Beijing.
I don’t think he’s at a disadvantage because he’s white: if anything, his competition is at a disadvantage because Wariner is at the top of his game right now and is the hunted, not the hunter.
The fact that he is white doesn’t mean anything except he’s outworked most of all other track athletes to put himself in position of where he is today.
[quote]Makavali wrote:
Mufasa wrote:
If anyone of any race puts the amount of time and effort in any endeavor that the average NBA player has all of his Life, they’ll be good at it too.
/thread[/quote]
Sure practice makes perfect. But in Track and Field, I really believe that they do have an advantage for some reason.
I am white but here are a few real life examples that I came across:
Met a girl last night, from Uganda. She used to do track and field in her country before coming to north america. Overthere she was considered SLOW. She came to north america and people were amazed by how FAST she was. Her young brother is #3 in north america in the long jump.
Met other girls from Guinee and Haiti. It also HAPPENS that they represented their school in track and field, one in short distance running and the other long distance. The one from Guinee tells me she REGRETS doing the short distance running because she is all muscular now (she is!).
My uncle’s brother who is white was the best at his school in track and field, i forget his specialty, but he got a scholarship at U of Miami. He got there and simply could not compete at all, it was full of black guys that were alot faster than him.
My sister’s friend who is mixed has HUGE quads. She does track and field and really is ashamed of her legs. Of course she doesn’t train them. She can’t seem to fit into any jeans and has difficulty finding pants that fit.
