Reason 1: Unique Sporting Culture.<\/b><\/li>\n

In Jamaica, sprinters, rather than footballers or cricketers, are seen as superstars.<\/li>\n

Even the annual schools’ athletics competition, \u2018Champs\u2019, is televised live and played to a packed stadium of 35,000 seats.<\/li>\n

120 schools compete with their very best athletes in this five-day competition, and good performers become household names.<\/li>\n

The authorities are on a constant lookout for great sprinting talent and any kid who has the potential to be a world-class sprinter is found out and turned into a track athlete.<\/li>\n

Reason 2: Proximity and cultural ties with the US.<\/b><\/li>\n

Some of the best athletes go to colleges in the US on sports scholarships, train and compete there, and a good number out of them return to Jamaica to train generations of new stars.<\/li>\n

Reason 3: Genetics & aluminium-rich soil<\/b><\/li>\n

A particular variant of the gene {tooltip}ACE{end-text}Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme{end-tooltip} has been associated with a larger than average heart capable of pumping highly oxygenated blood to muscles quicker than the average human.<\/li>\n

In people of west African origin, the frequency of this gene-variant is slightly higher than in people of Japanese & European origin; in Jamaica, it\u2019s even higher than those in west Africa.<\/li>\n

Also, 75% of all Jamaicans (whether athletes or not) have been found to have another gene ACTN3, which helps muscles generate strong, repetitive contractions (only 70% of US-athletes<\/b> have this gene).<\/li>\n

ACTN3 gene can only make a difference during the first three months of pregnancy when the number of these {tooltip}fast-twitch{end-text}There are two types of skeletal muscle fibers are slow-twitch (type I) and fast-twitch (type II). Slow-twitch muscle fibers support long-distance endurance activities like marathon running, while fast-twitch muscle fibers support quick, powerful movements such as sprinting or weightlifting. Source: National Academy of Sports Medicine (nasm.org){end-tooltip} muscle-fibres is determined.<\/li>\n

Aluminium in the environment or diet promotes the development of these muscle fibres in growing foetuses.<\/li>\n

And a large number of Jamaica\u2019s Olympians (including Usain Bolt) come from the region containing the rich aluminium ore deposits.<\/li>\n

The theory on genes & aluminium soil has been said to hold little relevance, as neither Brazil nor Nigeria, which have large numbers of ethnically comparable individuals, have any real success in running competitions.<\/li>\n

But in combination with other factors, these factors may have an impact that is yet to be proven with conclusive evidence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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