Jamaican Me Speedy - Why are Jamaicans so good at sprinting?

Slate Magazine ^ | August 18, 2008 | Nina Shen Rastogi

[Arec Barrwin]

Jamaican Me Speedy - Why are Jamaicans so good at sprinting? By Nina Shen Rastogi Posted Monday, Aug. 18, 2008, at 6:57 PM ET

Jamaicans dominated the Olympic 100-meter sprint this weekend, with Usain Bolt setting a world record and his teammates taking all three medals in the women's event. Jamaica is a poor, tiny nation about half the size of New Jersey. What makes its people such champion sprinters?

A combination of nature and nurture. Runners of West African descent—which includes Jamaicans as well as most African-Americans—seem to be built for speed: In 2004, they held all but five of the 500 best times in the 100-meter dash. (East Africans, such as Kenyans and Ethiopians, rule the long-distance field.) Several biological factors may be coming into play here. One study conducted in Quebec in the 1980s found that black West African students had significantly higher amounts of "fast-twitch" muscle fibers—the kind that are responsible for short, explosive bursts of action—than white French Canadians did. (So far, there is no evidence that even extensive training can turn slow-twitch muscles into fast-twitch ones, though moving in the other direction is possible.)

[Para-Ord.45]

Free ganja ?

[MediaMole]

Jimmy the Greek and Al Campanis are ROFL from beyond.

[G.Mason]

They wear $300 sneakers with flashing lights?

[silentreignofheroes]

Because you can only run so far on an island ?

[MeanWestTexan]

Because they are poor, they run for sport.

It requires no equipment at its most basic; a stopwatch and a pair of shoes at the high end.

People in richer countries have more options.

[Revolting cat!]

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Four letter word sounds like Rope.

[MrB]

Fine, but can they drive a bobsled?

“Cool Runnings”

[OB1kNOb]

[Conservababe]

Because they have had to sprint from the tigers for generations?

[adorno]

Runners of West African descent—which includes Jamaicans as well as most African-Americans—seem to be built for speed

Hey, isn't that stereotyping, and racist?

But, I'll bet blacks won't be complaining to anybody about that.

[Conservative Actuary]

It looked to me like several of the Jamaican women had braces on their teeth. I had a track coach in college who swore that was a sign of HGH use. It could be they didn't have the money growing up to get their teeth fixed and wanted it done right before the Olympics but how likely is that.

[xc1427]

Thank you very much!!!

[Rastus]

The black is a better athlete to begin with because he's been bred to be that way — because of his high thighs and big thighs that goes up into his back, and they can jump higher and run faster because of their bigger thighs. This goes back all the way to the Civil War when during the slave trading, the owner — the slave owner would breed his big black to his big woman so that he could have a big black kid.

Slap on a name like Nina Shen Rastogi, publish it in a lefty ezine like Slate, and you're good to go.

[kbennkc]

Jimmy the Greek and Al Campanis are ROFL from beyond.

By this logic NFL teams should scout Africa for the descendants of those too fast to be captured .

[AngelesCrestHighway]

“Runners of West African descent—which includes Jamaicans as well as most African-Americans—seem to be built for speed:”......

That’s racist! But at the same time Oprah’s race to the fridge would probably win a gold medal....

[AppyPappy]

So how come they beat the Africans?

[ladyjane]

Spring from tigers? There are no tigers in Africa. Lions, but no tigers.

[Always Right]

Usain Bolt is insane. The man is capable of a sub 9.5 100 if he would just run the last 30 meters. The most gifted sprinter in history.