Country Loon wrote:
> 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?
> 
I think it's a reasonable question, but obviously one that requires some 
caution in discussing.

If the ability to sprint fast has a large genetic component, then it 
could simply be that this is all due to there being more genetic 
variation in African populations, and hence a greaster chance of 
throwing up a fast runner.

Of course, there may be "real" explanations, and I think this is a 
question that could be examined empirically, and until someone does, 
then it's all a little fact and a lot of speculation.

Bob

-- 
Bob O'Hara
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
P.O. Box 68 (Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2b)
FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland

Telephone: +358-9-191 51479
Mobile: +358 50 599 0540
Fax:  +358-9-191 51400
WWW:  http://www.RNI.Helsinki.FI/~boh/
Journal of Negative Results - EEB: www.jnr-eeb.org
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