7 ms·

Something about the East African runners is just built differently to excel in endurance running. Probably a combination of genetics and training.

defrost 2y ago
if you can’t beat the Kenyans then join them Zane Robertson famously moving from Hamilton in 2007 at age 17, along with his twin brother Jake, in part to escape bullying and a broken family, to live and train in Kenya with the hope of mixing it among the best distance runners in the world. . . . and dabble in a bit of doping - https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/athletics/2023/03/26/zane-robertsons-new-yarn-is-really-just-the-same-old-story-again/ https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/athletics/2023/03/26/zane-r...
riffraff 2y ago
I'd wager there's probably a social factor too: if for any reason a given population is slightly better at X then X becomes more popular which leads to more support, more practitioners and in turn this becomes self-reinforcing.
- k1kingy 2y ago
  Rugby in New Zealand is a good example of this. Our small country with a small population is (and basically always has been) one of the top teams in the world. Not only at the elite level, but our junior teams and even school teams perform well on the world stage. Like you say, that social factor plays a huge part in it. Support, funding, etc etc
  - ruthie_cohen 2y ago
    Similarly with Australians and swimming, or Dagestan and combat sports.
  - aadhavans 2y ago
    Cricket in India comes to mind.
    - nasmorn 2y ago
      India has 1.4bn people. It is honestly weird they are not dominating in more sports. Once they really move out of being a developing nation and spend more on frivolous pursuits like Olympic medals I bet they will do just that.
11235813213455 2y ago
99.9% lifestyle & environment & education, 0.1% genetics, like for intelligence
- Graziano_M 2y ago
  intelligence is something like 60-80% heritable
  - 11235813213455 2y ago
    it's only heritable in the sense that intelligent parents will spend time with their child
  - thrance 2y ago
    It's mostly cultural. Your parent's background deeply impacts your own and your relationship to education, science culture. Read Bourdieu if you haven't already.
    - l0t0b0r0s 2y ago
      Its actually 60-80% heritable. The twin adoption study showed that twins raised in different environment have the same IQ. It also makes sense logically; why would only physical characteristics be heritable and not mental ones. >Read Bourdieu "Bourdieu contended there is transcendental objectivity, [definition needed] only when certain necessary historical conditions are met." This guy sounds like a midwit.
      - thrance 2y ago
        Correlation is not causation. Generally, adoptive families in these studies come from similar socio-economic backgrounds [1]. With your theory, how would you explain adopted refugees children doing much better at IQ tests than they would have if the stayed in their home countries? Also dismissing Bourdieu as a midwit? Yeah, ok. Come back when you actually want to expand your world view. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability_of_IQ#Heritability_and_socioeconomic_status https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability_of_IQ#Heritabil...
aithrowawaycomm 2y ago
A lot of these runners come from ethnic groups which live in highlands and mountains: extensive aerobic training in lower-O2 environments, then competing at standard elevations, seems to be the most important advantage: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225064362_Kenyan_and_Ethiopian_Distance_Runners_What_Makes_Them_So_Good https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225064362_Kenyan_an... There is probably a minor genetic component, microevolution promoting higher hemoglobin/etc than average, similarly to many Tibetans. But childhood conditioning seems to be a more powerful effect.

defrost 2y ago

if you can’t beat the Kenyans then join them Zane Robertson famously moving from Hamilton in 2007 at age 17, along with his twin brother Jake, in part to escape bullying and a broken family, to live and train in Kenya with the hope of mixing it among the best distance runners in the world. . . . and dabble in a bit of doping - https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/athletics/2023/03/26/zane-robertsons-new-yarn-is-really-just-the-same-old-story-again/ https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/athletics/2023/03/26/zane-r...

riffraff 2y ago

I'd wager there's probably a social factor too: if for any reason a given population is slightly better at X then X becomes more popular which leads to more support, more practitioners and in turn this becomes self-reinforcing.

k1kingy 2y ago
Rugby in New Zealand is a good example of this. Our small country with a small population is (and basically always has been) one of the top teams in the world. Not only at the elite level, but our junior teams and even school teams perform well on the world stage. Like you say, that social factor plays a huge part in it. Support, funding, etc etc
- ruthie_cohen 2y ago
  Similarly with Australians and swimming, or Dagestan and combat sports.
- aadhavans 2y ago
  Cricket in India comes to mind.
  - nasmorn 2y ago
    India has 1.4bn people. It is honestly weird they are not dominating in more sports. Once they really move out of being a developing nation and spend more on frivolous pursuits like Olympic medals I bet they will do just that.

11235813213455 2y ago

99.9% lifestyle & environment & education, 0.1% genetics, like for intelligence

Graziano_M 2y ago
intelligence is something like 60-80% heritable
- 11235813213455 2y ago
  it's only heritable in the sense that intelligent parents will spend time with their child
- thrance 2y ago
  It's mostly cultural. Your parent's background deeply impacts your own and your relationship to education, science culture. Read Bourdieu if you haven't already.
  - l0t0b0r0s 2y ago
    Its actually 60-80% heritable. The twin adoption study showed that twins raised in different environment have the same IQ. It also makes sense logically; why would only physical characteristics be heritable and not mental ones. >Read Bourdieu "Bourdieu contended there is transcendental objectivity, [definition needed] only when certain necessary historical conditions are met." This guy sounds like a midwit.
    - thrance 2y ago
      Correlation is not causation. Generally, adoptive families in these studies come from similar socio-economic backgrounds [1]. With your theory, how would you explain adopted refugees children doing much better at IQ tests than they would have if the stayed in their home countries? Also dismissing Bourdieu as a midwit? Yeah, ok. Come back when you actually want to expand your world view. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability_of_IQ#Heritability_and_socioeconomic_status https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability_of_IQ#Heritabil...

aithrowawaycomm 2y ago

A lot of these runners come from ethnic groups which live in highlands and mountains: extensive aerobic training in lower-O2 environments, then competing at standard elevations, seems to be the most important advantage: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225064362_Kenyan_and_Ethiopian_Distance_Runners_What_Makes_Them_So_Good https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225064362_Kenyan_an... There is probably a minor genetic component, microevolution promoting higher hemoglobin/etc than average, similarly to many Tibetans. But childhood conditioning seems to be a more powerful effect.