100 Metres in Less Than 10 Seconds

[lastlid]

As of 8 July 2012, 83 sprinters have broken the 10-second barrier with an official, legal time. Only one of those was / is white....the answer lays in Eugenics and the slave trade, apparently.

Gene doping is the next great fear in sport.

[grahamw48]

I did better than that in swimming once.

- Went over a blinkin waterfall. :cwm3:

[bigmarco]

As of 8 July 2012, 83 sprinters have broken the 10-second barrier with an official, legal time. Only one of those was / is white....the answer lays in Eugenics and the slave trade, apparently.

Gene doping is the next great fear in sport.

Very interesting subject. So if you have a white child who displays an interest in athletics you would probably be wise to steer them away from sprinting.
BTW fantastic race tonight. Bolt is awesome.

[grahamw48]

As the athletes on the programme themselves said....many factors are involved (and let's be honest, we're talking about fractions of a second here).

When one section of society is particularly motivated into becoming athletes....and indeed may see it as the only way they're going to achieve ANYTHING in life, then the figures are likely to become skewed.

Thus running is almost a religion in Jamaica, and countries like India have a pool of hundreds of thousands of youngsters who each day play cricket on every bit of bare ground.

Then there are the winter sports countries...the ones with mountains and snow. :)

[bigmarco]

As the athletes on the programme themselves said....many factors are involved (and let's be honest, we're talking about fractions of a second here).

When one section of society is particularly motivated into becoming athletes....and indeed may see it as the only way they're going to achieve ANYTHING in life, then the figures are likely to become skewed.

Thus running is almost a religion in Jamaica, and countries like India have a pool of hundreds of thousands of youngsters who each day play cricket on every bit of bare ground.

Then there are the winter sports countries...the ones with mountains and snow. :)

I will disagree with you for a change Graham. I believe there's something in their genes that make them able to run faster. Only 1 white man has ever run under 10 seconds.
Even when developed nations produce sprinters to dip under 10 seconds they are always of African/Carribean decent. Finally look how many chinese are on this planet and they can't produce a top class sprinter.

[lastlid]

Yes. Quite interesting and all of the pundits, last night, had a lot to offer on the subject....I kind of think that there must be slight genetic differences that make the difference as a rule, although as Graham says, there are a lot of other possible factors involved.

[grahamw48]

Oh, I'm not dismissing the possibility that the 'African genes' may play a part, just that we need to be wary of oversimplifying what is a very complicated subject with so many variables. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Ako Si Jamie]

I wonder why the Ethiopians & Kenyans are the best at long distance races!:Erm:

[lastlid]

Oh, I'm not dismissing the possibility that the 'African genes' may play a part, just that we need to be wary of oversimplifying what is a very complicated subject with so many variables. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

Its got to be the extra large gluteus maximus muscles that do it....:D

[grahamw48]

I wonder why the Ethiopians & Kenyans are the best at long distance races!:Erm:

My son and I have had a scientific discussion on this and we have come to the conclusion that it's because they have to run away from Lions...and Leopards...and to a lesser extent...Cheetahs (plus Buffalo, oh and Rhinos and Hippos). ....and Hyenas, plus one or two other things. :)

[Ako Si Jamie]

My son and I have had a scientific discussion on this and we have come to the conclusion that it's because they have to run away from Lions...and Leopards...and to a lesser extent...Cheetahs (plus Buffalo, oh and Rhinos and Hippos). ....and Hyenas, plus one or two other things. :)Somalians perhaps? :icon_lol:

[lastlid]

Actually, it is genetic, its in the belly buttons.....:D

WASHINGTON — "Scientists have found the reason why blacks dominate on the running track and whites in the swimming pool: it’s in their belly-buttons, a study published Monday shows.
What’s important is not whether an athlete has an innie or an outie but where his or her navel is in relation to the rest of the body, says the study published in the International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics.

The navel is the center of gravity of the body, and given two runners or swimmers of the same height, one black and one white, “what matters is not total height but the position of the belly-button, or center of gravity,” Duke University professor Andre Bejan, the lead author of the study, told AFP.
“It so happens that in the architecture of the human body of West African-origin runners, the center of gravity is significantly higher than in runners of European origin,” which puts them at an advantage in sprints on the track, he said.
Individuals of West African-origin have longer legs than European-origin athletes, which means their belly-buttons are three centimeters (1.18 inches) higher than whites’, said Bejan.
That means the black athletes have a “hidden height” that is three percent greater than whites’, which gives them a significant speed advantage on the track."



http://newsone.com/591035/scientists-discover-why-black-runners-are-faster-than-whites/

[grahamw48]

I guess that gives Cher a hell of an advantage as a sprinter then...what with hers being on the top of her head. :icon_lol:

[andy222]

As of 8 July 2012, 83 sprinters have broken the 10-second barrier with an official, legal time. Only one of those was / is white....the answer lays in Eugenics and the slave trade, apparently.

Gene doping is the next great fear in sport.

Does this mean Usain Bolt will be put to stud?:laugher:

[grahamw48]

Don't think he'll need any help. :)