For the record, Bengt Saltin, who I interviewed extensively for my book, makes EXACTLY the points Taboo makes. In this documentary, “The Faster Race," which was produced by the BBC division "Black Britain," and is very supportive of the book (read reviews of the documentary and an article by the anchor on "reactions around the world" on my web site), Saltin says the following:
“It’s a strong genetic component what type of muscle fiber you have, either slow or fast. And West Africans have already 70 or 75 percent of the fast type when they are born. And that’s needed for a 100 meter race around 9.9 seconds.”
What about distance running? “The Kenyans are born with a high number of slow twitch fibers,” states Saltin. “They have 70 to 75 percent of their muscle fibers being slow... Very many in sports physiology would like to believe that it is training, the environment, what you eat that plays the most important role. But we argue based on the data that it is ‘in your genes’ whether or not you are talented or whether you will become talented. … There is no question about that. The extent of the environment can always be discussed but it’s less than 20, 25 percent. It’s definitely a dominant factor how they are born. … I don’t see this as a racist issue.”
For the record, East African blacks, who have a genetic history distinct from blacks of West African ancestry, are notoriously poor sprinters, and perform worse than most whites, as a consequence of their ectomorphic body types, higher proportion of slow twitch muscle fibers, and other genetically-influenced anatomical characteristics. While the best East African time in the 100 meters is held by a Kenyan at 10.28 seconds (about 5,000th on the all-time list), the best time by a white is 10 seconds (220th), the top time by an Asian is 10.4 seconds (228). Athletes of West African ancestry hold the top 219 and 494 of the top 500 times.
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