Some Bio-Medical Mechanisms in Athletic Prowess

Abstract

For several decades the disproportionate success of individu-als of African descent in a wide range of athletic activities has been the subject of intense speculation and debate. Today, despite being a mere 12 per cent of the American population, African-Americans constitute a clear majority of that coun-try’s greatest athletes. Also, the disproportionate success in the area of sports, by the largely Afrocentric populations in the islands of the Caribbean, beg the questions, why and how. There are outstanding Caribbean and American athletes of African descent who are testimony to the tremendous physi-cal ability displayed by the descendants of West African-related forebears. Hypothesis Success of individuals of West African descent in athletic activities involving speed and power is based on (a) biome-chanical and biochemical differences between themselves and Caucasian and Asian athletes (1), and (b) biochemical differences between themselves and all other Africans (2). The African biomechanical advantages of lower subcu