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The DNA Olympics -- Jamaicans Win Sprinting 'Genetic Lottery' -- and Why We Should All Care
Forbes ^ | 8/12/2012

Posted on 08/14/2012 2:43:18 PM PDT by Altura Ct.

Jon Entine, author of Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We’re Afraid to Talk About It,” takes stock of the DNA London Olympics–where, as usual, African-descended athletes swept the running events while whites and Asians dominated in the water sports, field competition and strength events. What’s going on here?

Segregation was on display in London over the past two weeks–which, surprisingly, should spark no concerns and may even help educate us all about the wonders of human biodiversity. Let me explain.

Led by 100-meter world record holder Usain Bolt, Jamaican men swept the sprinting events at the London Olympics. It was a stunning feat for the small Caribbean nation. But as part of a broader trend, it’s hardly surprising. Runners of West African descent are the fastest humans on earth.

For decades, a bushel of developing countries—Jamaica, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts, Barbados, Grenada, Netherlands Antilles and the Bahamas in the Caribbean and Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Namibia in western Africa, as single countries, have each produced more elite male sprinters than all of white Europe and Asia combined. Yet West African descended runners are laggards at the longer races.

Remarkably, the story of East African runners is the mirror image of the West African success story. While terrible at the sprints, runners Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Somalia, along with a sprinkling of North and Southern Africans, regularly dominate endurance running.

And if you are an Asian or white runner? Forgetaboutit.

Unlike the props and costumes required for, say, fencing, or the intense coaching demanded of gymnastics, running requires only that you lace ‘em up. Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila proved this quite memorably in the 1960 Rome Olympics, when—shoeless, coachless and inexperienced—he won the marathon.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: jimmythegreek; runners; running; trackandfield
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To: dfwgator

Recall that 2 US sprinters, Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson, were given the wrong schedules and so missed their qualifying heats for the 100M. Both sprinters later participated in the Gold Medal 4x100 relay. Borzov had very good technique, but his 10.14 was SLOW. The Americans (West African decent) both posted times around 9.9.


41 posted on 08/14/2012 3:47:33 PM PDT by Tallguy (It's all 'Fun and Games' until somebody loses an eye!)
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To: null and void
I have a friend whose recreation is to run deer to exhaustion. He is an amazing cross country runner. More like a dog than a man, once he gets going. The deer eventually give up and are very docile.
42 posted on 08/14/2012 3:48:25 PM PDT by super7man
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To: wideawake
By the way, cheetah are reportedly not very good for eating.

No, but they are fun to chase away from their prey when the are too exhausted to defend it...

43 posted on 08/14/2012 3:53:25 PM PDT by null and void (Day 1303 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Heroes aren't made Frank, they're cornered...)
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To: super7man

I’d starve. I’m good for about 50m. Still, I’m pretty sure we’re the same species...


44 posted on 08/14/2012 3:56:15 PM PDT by null and void (Day 1303 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Heroes aren't made Frank, they're cornered...)
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To: DJ Frisat

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Obama brags about being a member of the state of Hawaii high school boy’s championship basketball team. He might as well have been cheerleader - he was just a benchsitter - never a starter. How embarrassing to have to “seal” your hs bb records!

I 2008 we saw Obama in Germany sink a jump shot for the media cameras - but it was his seventh shot - he missed the first six shots - which he called his ‘warmup practice shots’

The media made it look like Obama made his first shot - It actually as a set-up - shoot until Obama finally made a shot -

His hs teammates say he used to walk off the bb court stomping in anger - sound familiar?

Now Sarah Palin - she did sink the foul shot that won the Alaska state girl’s bb championship -

Recall Obama’s lame attempt at bowling?

A sick chimp would have beaten Obama.

-


45 posted on 08/14/2012 3:56:15 PM PDT by devolve (-------------------- ------- "...maybe a little blow..." - Barack Hussein Obama Junior -------------)
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Comment #46 Removed by Moderator

To: devolve
A sick chimp would have beaten Obama.

Unfortunately the GOPe ran McCain against him.

47 posted on 08/14/2012 3:58:56 PM PDT by null and void (Day 1303 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Heroes aren't made Frank, they're cornered...)
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To: dfwgator

LOL!


48 posted on 08/14/2012 4:00:13 PM PDT by rabidralph
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To: null and void

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Close enough!

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49 posted on 08/14/2012 4:03:07 PM PDT by devolve (-------------------- ------- "...maybe a little blow..." - Barack Hussein Obama Junior -------------)
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To: rabidralph
"Jamaican coat of arms features Indians, not Africans"

At least the Jamaicans know their heritage, unlike the blow hard libtards using Obama's techniques for creating discord.
50 posted on 08/14/2012 4:07:19 PM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: Altura Ct.
Ehh...You didn't run that race! Someone had to build that track......
51 posted on 08/14/2012 4:08:24 PM PDT by jakerobins
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To: jakerobins

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“I did not snort that blow!

- Somebody had to grow, process, smuggle, step on it, and sell it to me!”

-


52 posted on 08/14/2012 4:21:43 PM PDT by devolve (-------------------- ------- "...maybe a little blow..." - Barack Hussein Obama Junior -------------)
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To: RightOnTheBorder

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Does running faster on a curve ring your bell?

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53 posted on 08/14/2012 4:25:17 PM PDT by devolve (-------------------- ------- "...maybe a little blow..." - Barack Hussein Obama Junior -------------)
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To: vetvetdoug
Libtards are always quick to claim that Jamaicans are descended from Africans.

Most people will "claim" that most Jamaicans are largely descended from Africans, though of course there are Arawak and European strains in their ancestry.

They forget that the Quakers and Pennsylvanians sold Native Americans into slavery that were then shipped to Jamaica.

It wasn't uncommon for Whites or Indians to be enslaved. That it was Quakers in particular (as opposed to other groups) who did so, and that Quakers shipped large numbers of Indians from the mainland to Jamaica are debatable claims.

If you have any evidence that this happened on any significant scale provide it now or be proved a liar.

54 posted on 08/14/2012 4:25:41 PM PDT by x
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To: Altura Ct.

I’ll just wait until Al Campanis weighs in, thank you very much.


55 posted on 08/14/2012 4:31:06 PM PDT by Dysart (Leftists are not Liberals)
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To: wideawake

“There is zero record of slaveholders intentionally breeding humans for traits”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_breeding_in_the_United_States


56 posted on 08/14/2012 4:35:55 PM PDT by lacrew (Mr. Soetoro, we regret to inform you that your race card is over the credit limit.)
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To: Dysart

I see now old Al was referenced in the story. Funny stuff.


57 posted on 08/14/2012 4:36:03 PM PDT by Dysart (Leftists are not Liberals)
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To: Altura Ct.
Black Freepers, here's your chance to make a humanitarian gesture and offer to "redistribute" your DNA free of charge to all who ask...

; D

58 posted on 08/14/2012 4:55:49 PM PDT by Caipirabob (I say we take off and Newt the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...)
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59 posted on 08/14/2012 4:56:54 PM PDT by RedMDer (https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/default.aspx?tsid=93destr)
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To: Altura Ct.

In before obama takes credit for black DNA...


60 posted on 08/14/2012 4:58:11 PM PDT by Caipirabob (I say we take off and Newt the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...)
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