ABSTRACT
Endurance athletic performance (defined as distances from 800 m to marathon) was until recently, dominated by European athletes: in 1986, 48.3% of the top 20 performances were by European athletes while 26.6% were by African athletes. By 2003 the proportion of European achievement reduced to 11.7% while the proportion of African achievement increased to 85% (IAAF all time outdoor lists 2003, see <https://www.iaaf.org>;). Most of the success of African athletes in international distance running has been amongst those of east African descent and in particular Kenyan athletes. This is in contrast to the dominance of west African runners in sprint events. The success of African athletes across all events has led to the belief that ‘black’ runners are somehow superior. So what, then, underpins this dramatic association of elite performance with race?
