Why are the Jamaicans so good at sprinting?

Policemen don't have cars in Jamaica

everything slows down on ganja so you have to do things double quick to make it seem normal

when the slave trade came over from Africa one of the last stops was Jamaica.  This means only the strongest were still alive (they were packed and shipped like cargo) and hence enriching the Jamaican gene pool

That's one of the theories

There was something about this on another forum I was on during the last Olympics. They seemed to think it was possibly diet related.

Sam H is spot on.

We should send a boat load of our unemployed chavs to The Falkland Islands then

thanks Sam H

We should send a boat load of our unemployed chavs to The Falkland Islands then

Michael Johnson agrees with Sam H

It is nothing to do with diet.. No amount of rice'n'peas or jerk chicken can make you run like Bolt

Here is something to read when you get bored..

Whether or not genes confer a competitive advantage on blacks when it comes to stealing bases, running with the football, shooting hoops, or jumping hurdles remains the $64,000 question. Since the first known study of differences between blacks and white athletes in 1928, the data have been remarkably consistent: in most sports, African-descended athletes have the capacity to do better with their raw skills than whites. Blacks with a West African ancestry generally have:

    relatively less subcutaneous fat on arms and legs and proportionately more lean body and muscle mass, broader shoulders, larger quadriceps, and bigger, more developed musculature in general;
    denser, shallower chests;
    higher center of gravity, generally shorter sitting height, narrower hips, and lighter calves;
    longer arm span and "distal elongation of segments" - the hand is relatively longer than the forearm, which in turn is relatively longer than the upper arm; the foot is relatively longer than the tibia (leg), which is relatively longer than the thigh;
    faster patellar tendon reflex;
    greater body density, which is likely due to higher bone mineral density and heavier bone mass at all stages in life, including infancy (despite evidence of lower calcium intake and a higher prevalence of lactose intolerance, which prevents consumption of dairy products);
    modestly, but significantly, higher levels of plasma testosterone (3-19 percent), which is anabolic, theoretically contributing to greater muscle mass, lower fat, and the ability to perform at a higher level of intensity with quicker recovery;
    a higher percentage of fast-twitch muscles and more anaerobic enzymes, which can translate into more explosive energy.

Relative advantages in these physiological and biomechanical characteristics are a gold mine for athletes who compete in such anaerobic activities as football, basketball, and sprinting, sports in which West African blacks clearly excel. However, they also pose problems for athletes who might want to compete as swimmers (heavier skeletons and smaller chest cavities could be drags on performance) or in cold-weather and endurance sports. Central West African athletes are more susceptible to fatigue than whites and East Africans, in effect making them relatively poor candidates for aerobic sports.

White athletes appear to have a physique between central West Africans and East Africans. They have more endurance but less explosive running and jumping ability than West Africans; they tend to be quicker than East Africans but have less endurance.

For further reading :

http://run-down.com/guests/je_black_athletes_p1.php

Good spot tenniso - interesting read - thanks