Are black people genetically better adapted to sports? No jokes please?

Question

this is not any kind of racist comment i can assure you

Answer 1

Hi there. I know that you are asking this innocently.

I remember many years ago, a wise person I knew explained that when society did not allow blacks entry into so many avenues of accomplishment, music and sports were left more open and, consequently, that became their way to advance themselves.

So, in some ways, these things can happen by default (there's nowhere else to go, sort of thing). On the other hand, if we consider the harsh life that slavery meant for blacks in America, it's easy to imagine that those that survived created a very fit gene pool, indeed.

Frances

Answer 2

First of all, what you constitute as "black" needs to be defined.
If you are talking about pigmentation then definately not.

I mean I havn't seen any dark skinned pacific islanders pull out with olympic gold.

The thing is for every sport certain characteristics will give you a competive edge. In basketball and high jumping height is a great advantage as it is in pole vaulting (I happen to be a pole vaulter http://vault.awardspace.com)

But honestly you don't see many "black" pole vaulters"
The reason being for the most part socioeconomical.
Same deal with skateboarding (which I love) and other extreme sports.

The basic point is of course cetain physical characteristics are advantageous for certain sports. And if you have credible research that show people of African decent have a better anaerobic metabolism or "extra muscles" FINE I won't argue that.

What i will say is in sports the main factor is drive and commitment. How hard are you willing to work? How badly do you want to start? Chances are if you were just built to be a coach potatoe you will not be competing in sports.

To me, this is the closely related to questions like "Are asain genetically smarter..etc" Which would definately be another no. Once again, it boils down to comitment and socioeconomic expectations.

Answer 3

Jimmy the Greek (I think) got into big trouble for making such a statement a few years back!

Let me start by saying that I'm approaching this from a different vantage point then most. Blacks, Whites, Yellow and Reds (and all other shades!) are related. We all have the same blood coursing through our veins. After the Tower of Babel catastrophe in the Bible, people were dispersed all over the world. The bible doesn't give us much detail about how God disbursed people, so I'm going to assume that the dispersion was fairly level. So there would have been light skinned people in Africa, dark skinned people in Scandinavia, etc. (Mind you, I have no proof). Anyway, over the 4,000 years or so roughly since this incident, people groups have developed with certain traits that may make them better suited to some physical activities. I don't think anyone would deny that Kenyans excel at Marathon running. (Does that mean someone from a Pygmy tribe would also excel because they're black? I don't think so).

So you may find groups of dark skinned that excel at sports. I would imagine that you would also find light skinned people that excel equally in other places of the world. Why the large number of white basketball players from the Bosnia area? etc.

So it's not their skin color, but more how their people group developed after the Tower of Babel that would indicate what physical tasks they may excel at.

Answer 4

Some people have genetic traits that may benefit them in certain sports. Some black men have a extra thigh muscle, but it still needs to be developed. Lance Armstrong has an extraordinally abitlity to process latic acid which slows muscle fatique. Lance also has a back problem that helps his riding posture. Some people have excellent eyesight. Kenyans are excellent long distance runners. Some traits hurt performance. How many 5ft 6 in high jumpers do you see? Don't equate sports performance with anything other than what it is. Its just a game, nothing more.

Answer 5

At some sports, possibly.

If you look at some sports there do seem to be more black people that excel than you would expect as a proportion of the population.

However in other sports the reverse is often true.

However this may not simply be down to genetics.

Upbringing and expectations may have a big factor in this. In the UK and the US for example white sportsman probably have wider access to a multitude of different sports, many of which, for reasons of expense, culture and expectations, black people perhaps sometimes avoid.

For example very few black sportsmen/women participate in rowing, yachting, golf, tennis etc. (Tiger Woods being a notable exception, who is hopefully encouraging more black people to participate in that sport).

So whilst the white populations sportsmen and women are spread out amongst a wide range of sports. The black populations sportsmen and women tend to concentrate in particular sports such as football, boxing and athletics, particularly on the track. and this may perhaps skew the performances just as much, if not more so, as genetics.

Answer 6

Black people as a whole, probably not. Black people in the Americas, maybe. There was a bit of both natural and artificial selection caused by slavery in the U.S., the Carribbean, and South America. Only the strong survived the trip from Africa, and only the strongest among them survived the grueling agricultural plantation work (cotton, sugar, etc). So for many generations, it was quite literally, survival of the strongest. That legacy is still with us, and expresses itself in what you have observed.

While certain groups in Africa have proven to be very adept at certain sports (the Kenyans in running, for instance, due to their environment), there is no group of black people in Africa who have proven so universally able to dominate others in physical activities.

Of course, I'm just guessing, so that could all be B.S.

I should also say that I know *all* black people in the Americas are not good at sports. I'm definitely not - which is why i became an accountant!

Answer 7

No, many blacks are are born with more physical features....its not a racist thing to say that more blacks are faster, bigger, and can jump higher than other races.....just turn on the t.v. and watch a basketball, football, or track event....but to say sports adapted, i don't think so. You still have to be able to shoot good in basketball, have coordination, able to throw a football, or catch one.....and while many blacks can do so very well, alot of those positions are taken up by whites. Baseball is more whites, as is tennis. Most however, do have an advantage when it comes to the physical aspects of the game though!!!

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Yes, through evolution, the peoples in the African region became darker so as to better stand the Sun's intense equatorial heat, also blck people tend to be excellent runners due to their body adapting and becoming more efficient in running since they still do it today to hunt and have been forever. Ask any naturalist, evolutionist or biologist (I'm studying Environmental Biology at uni) in the World and they would say that they were adapting to their environment like we all are (eskimos have more natural fat than us to survive colder temperatures) and black people are generally taller to, for even better running posture.

Answer 10

They might be for certain sports at least. Many black people have a taller frame that allows them to dominate in height competitive sports. A tall thin frame improves long distance running performance as the body is able to have a longer stride and shed excess heat more easily. Unfortunately, the real reason for their dominance in certain sports is that many black youngsters (especially those with limited educational or socioeconomic opportunities) consider sports to be the best or only path to success.