Race and athletic

performance
Applied Exercise Physiology
Btec Sport and Exercise Science
Learning objectives

Define Race Role of Genetics in physiology

Current Race and Sport

preconceptions
Why is it that people Many scientists,
of a certain race or coaches and other
genetic background experts have asked
seem to perform this question and
better at certain tried to explain it.
sports than others?
Definiation
• A local geographic or
global human
population
distinguished as a
more or less distinct
group by genetically
transmitted physical
characteristics.
Task
• It is evolution that
is likely responsible
for genetics role in
athletic
performance.
• What qualities do
we need for good
athletic
performance?
• What role could
Genes play in
determining
these?
• Rapid acceleration
• Strength/muscle strength
• Short sprints
• Endurance
• Extended stamina
• Rapid Recovery
And the ability to interchange
on demand
• If you are part of a race or
tribe that over many tens of
thousands of years has to,
out of need for survival,
engage in certain regular
behaviours then over time...
• .......What should happen?
• Genetics are the
fundamental code that gives
people their
• eye colour
• limb length
• Height
• bodily proportions
• reaction time
• hair colour
• lung capacity,
• weight distribution
 Cup and Water approach
Cup represents your genetic potential and the water you fill it with
your training effect.

A short stocky well trained runner will obviously beat untrained

thin runner type but will have a lower potential for improvement
and future elite performance at marathon running
Racially Dominated sports and public
misconception
• Peoples conception of race and sport is
warped by the media why do you think this
is?
The Weightlifting Example
Current conception of weightlifting
is that it is dominated by the
Chinese and that Chinese are gifted
weightlifters.

In the the 70’s 80’s it was Russians

And 50’s and 60’s USA that had

highest medal totals.

Interestingly china have yet to

produce a medaling heavyweight
class lifter. Think back to the Cup
and water example.
Chinese weightlifters
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y9w_9
EsKFM&feature=player_embedded#!
Provides weight to the training
argument
It could be argued that maybe Chinese
weightlifters just train harder or longer than
their counterparts

A common lay misconception you hear is

“black people have more fast twitch fibres”

If this where true then surely they should

dominate power sports like weightlifting?
The Marathon Runner Example
• East African runners are associated with
absolute dominance of their sport, and
theories are abounding to why.

• What do you think the reasons are?

“(For Kenyans) there isn’t much else besides
running.“Trisha Steidl Seattle University’

East African holds every major record from the

800-meter race to the marathon.

In 1986, 48.3% of the top 20 performances in

the major distance events were held by
Europeans.

By 2003, 85% of these top 20 performances

were held by runners of African descent, 55.8%
of which were Kenyan.
Summary
Race has both scientific meaning and social
meaning

Genetics determine our physical potential to

some extent, but training and psychology
matter too

A lot of people have preconceptions of race

and how it effects performance.