>you can't pick your parents
>you can't begin to include the intangibles (culture,race,environment) before having the physical attributes added up first.

People give the example of the NBA often. The NBA is full of overrated, ill-shooting, awkward tall men that can't shoot a free throw....black and white alike. Yes, they are tall, and it helps with specific match-up's, but doesn't guarantee success.
Al McGuire, the coach of the champion Marquette Warriors (college) once said, that when the game is on the line, and my guy has 2 free throws with little time left and the crowd is going nuts, i want the dumb kid that doesn't over think/analyze the situation. I want the kid who is too dumb to think about everything that i am thinking about.
PEOPLE respond to pressure differently. At that point, the genetics might have gotten them to that point, but the mental and other intangibles (we aren't machines you know, these athletes have regular pressures of family, money, etc that we do) take over. Some athletes can block out most this....

WHEN YOU have an athlete succeed in a critical moment of any event, you have to throw in desire, other failures and accomplishments, etc. or just plain luck...people feel good on certain days and others feel lowsy.

Maybe Kenyans diets are good for running. a diet that starts at birth, not in their 20's after growth is already done.

90% OF LIFE IS JUST SHOWING UP>> for superior athletes they have that 90% down flat. It's what you do with the other 10% that makes the difference here. I don't care what color or background you come from.

Oh, and we haven't even gotten into the fact that Kenyans are pure, in that they don't interbreed like most europeans do. The airplane made it easier to intermingle and genetically alter the landscape. The Nazi 'purist' notion is over in western civilization. Can you imagine the Wisconsin german immigrants only breeding with people in their state all these centuries later? Most of western society are mutt's compared to the Kenyans and Chinese, etc. **There are exceptions, but for the sake of this thread, we will have to assume some things**

I am currently studying the explosion of birth defects that occur when people of differing backgrounds (Metiteranean descent meets european descent for example) vs. defects in cultures that do not mix (with equal dietary and level of prenatal care)