"Country Loon"  wrote in
news:clc03l$255h$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org: 

> 
> "Jeff T"  wrote in message
> news:cl65sj$apg$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org...
>> A European science study concluded that "running
economy" from lower
>> leg mass was one of the factors. You'll find more in a Google search
>> using 
> 'leg
>> mass' 'running economy'
>>
>> http://www.fitpro.com/fitpro/mag_pdf/318.pdf
>>
>>
>>
>> "Country Loon" 
wrote in message
>> news:cl1e3g$2063$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org...
>> > I have heard that the best long distance runners come from a tribe
>> > in Ethiopia who could get more wives(and hence more offspring) by
>> > buying 
> them
>> > with livestock which they had to catch by running. The fastest ones
>> > had 
>> more
>> > offspring and hence the predominance. I would have though that this
>> favoured
>> > sprinters more than long distance. Look at any Olympics and you
>> > will see 
>> 90%
>> > black runners in the final (or more!). There has to be a reason.Or
>> > is 
> this
>> a
>> > taboo question?
>> >
>> >
>> > Tom
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
> Yes I did not mean by this question that running faster means a poorer
> intellect - why should it? (as one of the posters has suggested that
> others have mentioned in the past). As to why I should ask about white
> swimmers - well yes a good question too.
> I would have also said this about golfers until recently! I could also
> ask a similar question about black heavyweight boxers or
> south-American footballers!

Socioeconomic factors, as mentioned by other followers, are probably 
important for many sports - golf being a good example. Until recently, 
golf was played only by northern europeans, so it is not surprising that 
they dominated the sport. One could also argue that only northern 
europeans who have had their minds numbed and senses dulled by years of 
exposure to horrible weather are crazy enough to enjoy such a stupid and 
frustrating sport - and as you may have guessed I do play golf :-) The 
dominance of boxing by blacks is probably at least in part socioeconomic 
- it is a  mealticket that is not appealing to those with other options. 

I think for swimmers and footballers the answer is different. Neither of 
these sports is expensive to participate in, both are popular worldwide, 
and while soccer offers a mealticket it does not, as does boxing, require 
one to get beat up on a regular basis. I think there are still social 
factors - the south americans are obviously football-crazy, and the 
popularity of swimming as a sport shows a lot of variation. But in these 
cases we might be more justified in looking at genetics as part of the 
answer. 

Of course, given our current level of understanding of human genetics, 
and especially the interaction between genes and the environment in 
influencing development, at present this is mostly speculation.


Yours,

Bill Morse
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