Website design By BotEap.comAt every Summer Olympics, one thing is predictable: the middle and long distance races will be dominated by Kenyan athletes. The debate will then continue: what do these Kenyans have? Again theories will be postulated as to why they always win.

Website design By BotEap.comThe most dominant theory as to why they win is: it’s in their genes, they’ve been raised at altitude and therefore “oxygen trained”, they run to and from school and therefore start training early and that’s a single way out of poverty.

Website design By BotEap.comThere is quite a lot of literature on this subject and several scientific studies have been carried out on it. However, none of the studies have conclusively said why Kenyan athletes always win.

Website design By BotEap.comThere is no doubt that a combination of all the factors mentioned above together with some serious training will produce good results. But which of these factors contributes the most to the exceptional performance of Kenyan athletes?

Website design By BotEap.comBefore we get into the factors, it’s worth noting that the majority of Kenyan distance runners come from the Kalenjin community in Kenya.

Website design By BotEap.comAs a Kenyan who has lived in the Kenyan highlands all my life, I postulate that the factors are ranked as follows in decreasing order of importance. Getting out of poverty, it’s in your genes, running to and from school, growing up.

Website design By BotEap.comThese classifications are based on the following observations. Nandi district in Kenya is not the highest place where people live in Kenya. Kapsabet in Nandi is at an altitude of 6,499 feet while Tamau, another city in Kenya, is at an altitude of 7,229, but very few athletes come from Timau. Also, there are many other places in the world where people live at higher altitudes than Kapsabet.

Website design By BotEap.comRunning to and from school undoubtedly plays a role in preparing young children for an eventual career in athletics. But children in Meru, Kenya, which is at the same elevation as Kapsabet, also run from school every day. So running to and from school would not explain the difference between Meru and Kaspsabet in athlete production.

Website design By BotEap.comThere seems to be reason to believe that some ethnic groups are naturally gifted to excel in certain sports. Just look at how the Spanish and their Brazilian cousins ​​harass everyone else in soccer. In Kenya, the one factor that the Kalenjins, who make up the majority of Kenyan runners, do not share with other Kenyans is that they are Kalenjins. So there seems to be reason enough to believe that his success is due, at least in part, but quite significantly, to his ethnicity.

Website design By BotEap.comThere are many Kalenjins who live in the urban centers of Kenya. These Kalenjins with their genes, altitude and all hardly produce any reputable athletes. Sure your kids aren’t running to and from school, but more importantly, your kids are assured of a college education and can have a job after college. The amount of training and effort that Kenyan runners put into becoming the best in the world is simply phenomenal. Sure, the athlete will probably have more money than the college student eventually, but what it takes isn’t worth it to a person who has “other ways out of poverty.” In the 1960s, Kipchoge Keino could have won because he had Kalenjin genes. Today, the Kalenjin genes are certainly favored by the presence of 4×4 cars and large mansions in the villages owned by athletes who would otherwise be farming the land for $2 a day.

Website design By BotEap.comThus, the success of Kenyan runners today has more to do with psychology than physiology, and more to do with attitude than altitude.