The majority of Kenyan top middle and long-distance runners come from the Kalenjin community, who make up just 0.06% of the world’s population, but have won about 70% of all the elite races since they began competing in them.
Their
complete dominance in the sport has confounded sports scientists for decades,
with various theories thrown in – the high altitude in their Rift Valley homeland
primes them for better oxygen utilisation, their slender, lanky build makes
them resist fatigue longer, a simple, wholesome maize based diet is the key or
that they had simply spent their childhood running to and from school.
Many
of these theories have been debunked, but one theory threw some light:
there are two types of skeletal muscle fibres, type I, or slow-twitch muscles,
and type II, fast-twitch muscles. Endurance runners like the Kenyans have more
type I fibres, which allows them to take up more oxygen and keep running for
longer.
But
Kenyan pioneering marathoner Kip Keino dislikes these “natural advantages” theories, condemning them as racist and arguing running just takes hard work
and mental discipline.
source: mgafrica
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