Oleg:
Although you are correct that Europe is a "melting pot," there are still
some very distinct genetic populations. Finns and Basques are quite
genetically distinct from the rest of Europe and from each other. So are
sections of Eurasia, from Bulgaria through Turkey and parts of Mongolia. No
surprise that this later area is the center of powerlifting.
In fact, there was a cover story recently in Time International detailing
the geneic differences between the Basques, the Spanish and the French, as
well as the similiarities between Huganrians and surrounding Slavs. There
are marked genetic differences between the Welsh and other Brits. There are
significant genetic differences between Irish Catholics and Irish
Protestants!
The key is WHICH PHENOTYPE (characteristic) is being "marked." In the case
of body types, you can definitely plot anthrompometry by population and that
does correlate with certain sports that are body type specific.
Bringing up East Germany was interesting. As I documented in three chapter
sin "Taboo," despite a massive state supported effort that included huge
expenditures in dollars, training, performance enhancing drugs, etc., East
Germany was unable to even be very competitive in certain events in which
the regional body type was not optimal, such as the 100 meter sprint for
men. Their success came in sports in which no body type was preeminent or in
women's events in which drugs (which effect women's performance
proportionately more than men) was critical, such as running and swimming. I
did an analysis using "drug screens" to gauge the effect of drug use in
running in Taboo and it was dramatic.
For instance, at 400 meters (which is a "tweener" distance between those of
West and East African ancestry), with no drug filter (stripping East
German/Russian/Bulgarian wins during acknowledged drug use period), white
women held 73 percent of the top times. That drops to 16 percent with a drug
screen.
At the 100 meters, which athletes of West African ancestry dominate (the top
200 male 100 meter times, 494 of the top 500), with no drug filter, Eastern
athletes could still only hold 18 percent of top times (versus 15 percent
with the drug filter).
So the body type differences at the extremes, in which body type and
physiology are most crucial, is overwhelming.
The issue blurs considerably in the "middle distances" and begins to
reassert itself a bit more in the longer distances.
On 5/1/01 8:02 AM, "t-and-f-digest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 22:47:23 -0400
> From: "Oleg Shpyrko" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: RE: t-and-f: Follow the money was- Flat earth Creationism
>
> RE: Economical reasons.
>
> Would there be more american champions
> if winning a major marathon by a US runner was worth $10, 20 million?
> Kenyan GDP is $270 per capita. Even relatively low-key 10K like recent
> James Joyce Ramble offers $1000 for a win, plus appearance fees.
> Peanuts money for average american, 4 years or so worth of typical wage in
> Kenya. Winning Boston, Chicago, New York - each would put a kenyan winner
> into "Kenyan Bill Gates" range. For an american - something one could earn
> working 9 to 5 for a year or two. In many ways, I still can't understand
> what motivated Rodgers, Flemming, Meyer, Hodge and others 20 years ago when
> all the road races offered was asphalt and adrenaline.
>
> If you are still not convinced about economical factor - look at Russia
> and countries of Eastern Block. I am no anthropologist (not even a
> journalist!), but I strongly suspect one would be hard-pressed to identify
> genetic difference between, say, polish or ukrainian or romanian and
> american, brittish or german. The melting pot the Europe has been for so
> many centuries - who could tell? Maybe russians have more asian genes mixed
> up, but for the most part they should be much closer to anglo-saxons than
> kenyans.
>
> Culturally there might not be that many key differences either. Russians
> lead slightly more active lifestyle, but their diet consists of greasy foods
> as well (try living through long cold winters on rice and water), rich in
> fats and proteins. Total populations are about the same.
>
> So why in a single week of Boston, London and Rotterdam marathons, a dozen
> or so Russian/Polish/Romanian women break 2:30 - how many US women broke
> 2:30 in the past 5 years?
>
> The reasons are mostly economical, IMPHO. Russia is no Kenya, but a few
> grand will buy you a lot more in Russia than in US. Plus some of those
> marathoners are basically unemployed in Russia, or have to work odd jobs to
> put some bread on the table (and I mean that literally). So there you have -
> Pozdnyakova and Kuznetsov cleaning up every race in sight, running 4, 5
> marathons a year, plus another dozen or two of smaller races.
> For them, the times and titles don't mean much unless there's a price tag
> associated with it. Economically, for some of those women, for example, it
> makes more sense to race 4-5 marathons a year in high 2:30ies-low 2:40ies
> (which would probably still win most of them), rather than train for a
> single sub-2:30 one.
>
> I do believe, that even leaving the cultural differences between US and
> Kenya
> aside (Ninetendos, McDonalds, School Buses etc.), if running was as big as
> NBA or NFL in terms of yearly earnings, contracts, etc. offered to top US
> runners, US would dominate distance running like they do basketball.
>
> Oleg "yet another 'flat-earth creationist'?"
>
> - -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Tom Derderian
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2001 8:04 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: t-and-f: Follow the money was- Flat earth Creationism
--
Jon Entine
RuffRun
6178 Grey Rock Rd.
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
(818) 991-9803 [FAX] 991-9804
http://www.jonentine.com
