MY DAUGHTER ASKED ME "WHY ARE ALL THE BLACK RUNNERS ON TV SO FAST"

It seems that the difference between people originating from West Africa and (for example) white/caucasian athletes is a higher centre of gravity.

A new study by researchers at Howard University, a historically black school in Washington D.C., and Duke University in North Carolina suggests why black athletes may outperform athletes of other races in running events. Physical differences in the length of the limbs and the structure of the body mean the center of gravity tends to be higher in the bodies of black people, the researchers say.

Since 1968, the world record holders in the men's 100-meter dash have been black athletes. And since 1912, when the International Association of Athletics Federations started keeping track of the record holders in that event, only 10 non-black athletes out of 38 individuals have held the title.

"There is a whole body of evidence showing that there are distinct differences in body types among blacks and whites," said researcher Edward Jones, who researches adolescent obesity, nutrition and body composition at Howard University. "These are real patterns being described here. Whether the fastest sprinters are Jamaican, African or Canadian, most of them can be traced back generally to Western Africa."

Why center of gravity matters

Although there are also cultural factors at work, it all comes down to body makeup, Jones said.

"Blacks tend to have longer limbs with smaller circumferences, meaning that their centers of gravity are higher compared to whites of the same height," said Adrian Bejan, Jones' co-author, an engineering professor at Duke University. "Asians and whites tend to have longer torsos, so their centers of gravity are lower."

"These differences are small, and we don't really see them when we look at someone," Bejan told Life's Little Mysteries. "We are only rarely struck by how long someone's legs are."

But these small differences certainly matter in races lasting less than 10 seconds, Bejan said.

The height of a person's center of gravity affects how fast his feet are moving when they hit the ground, Bejan said. Each step a runner takes is like falling except the athlete breaks the fall with his foot. So the feet of a person with a higher center of gravity will hit the ground faster than someone with a lower center of gravity.

Torsos and legs

In the study, the scientists gathered data available from the militaries of 17 nations. Militaries measure their recruits for uniform fittings and are a reliable source of data, Bejan said. To approximate torso length, the scientists compared the average height of the military men with their sitting height – the distance from a chair to the top of the head.

Results showed the average sitting height of blacks was about 1.5 inches (3 cm) shorter than that of whites who were the same height. This means that, among blacks and whites of the same height, the legs of blacks were longer (think of a high-waisted person), while the torsos of whites were longer.

This physical difference gives a black athlete an advantage, even against an athlete of another race is who is taller and has a higher center of gravity, said Bejan. From a physics perspective, Bejan said, the legs do the work of running and the torso of the body is just extra weight that the legs must carry, so the race goes to the runners with longer legs and shorter torsos.

By contrast, whites tend to have the advantage in swimming, where a longer torso allows for faster speeds.

"Swimming actually generates a wave. The sport is the art of surfacing on that wave. When the wave is bigger – because the torso is longer – they go faster," Bejan said.

The study was published online this week in the International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics.

(c&p)

Well, one can never rule out the scourge of downtown Kingston.

i watched that show.

Its still down to the make up of certain people.

interestly it is only black athletes
living in the U.S.A or West Indies which are the  fast sprinters

Very few from Africa their ethnic  country of origin

useless man too beaten by a girl

AG,
My 9 yo said similar when they lined up for 800m women's final

Helps them to get away from the police

I think all human races came out of Africa???

I dont think white people descended form whales

ebulGery, I didn't say white people are descended from whales, I said we share a common ancestor.  It is beyond dispute.

That being the reason we are better swimmers is just my logical extension to Prof. Dawkins' work.  Problem with him is he can't see the wood for the trees sometimes.

then so would all human species...
we are members of the ape family

we may have had a common ancestor with Whales, but that is going back a very very long way

Hang on. How did that happen?  Crisp isn't the author on the topic list.

Let me just put the pieces together....

ebulGery, I am of course 'avin a larf.

Our closest living relative relative is the Chimpanzee (split from common ancestor some 2 million years ago), then the Gorilla (split from common ancestor some 6 million years ago).

It is only in the last decade with decoding genomes of loads of species that we have found that the closest living relative to whales are - wait for it - hippopotomuseseses.

Forget the 'The God Delusion' (self-aggrandising sensationalism).  If you want a REALLY good read, Dawkins best book, imo, is The Ancestors Tale - which takes you back on a journey, meeting one common ancestor after another until you reach the origins of life itself.

Seriously, give it a go.

orioles
12 Aug 12 21:38
Joined:
26 Feb 03
| Topic/replies: 7,870 | Blogger: orioles's blog
It seems that the difference between people originating from West Africa and (for example) white/caucasian athletes is a higher centre of gravity.

So nothing to do with having a bigger arse then or is having a bigger arse the higher centre of gravity?