Question: Why are Jamaicans faster than us?

Derek McKay-Bukowski answered on 18 Jun 2011:

Throughout t world there is some variety in human physiology. For the most part, humans are the same. And, to another animal (say a fish), it is probably impossible to tell the difference from one human and the next. These similarities are two arms, two legs, one head, 10 fingers, a certain proportion of structure, same numbers of bones, etc.

However, to us, there are very small variations. And we, as humans, like to notice them. So, even though most humans can move at a certain pace, there are variations in that too.

These variations can include things like height or muscle structure, curly hair or straight hair, blue or brown eyes, and so on. When it comes to speed, height and muscle structure can be an advantage in terms of running quickly.

As some of the variations in human build are more dominant in certain regions, on average this can mean that someone from that region is statistically more likely to be taller and or faster. It is a small effect, but when you are measuring it in a race with a stop watch, you might notice this.

Then there is the issue of numbers…

Sometimes these comparisons are biased by numbers. For example, the France might win more medals than Belgium. This is not necessarily because France is any better, but because they have more people to choose from for the comparison. (65 million people versus 11 million) The Olympics, for instance, would be much more different if we used the “most average” person, rather than the best! Newspapers often like to “get a good story” by focusing on extreme cases, and ignoring the statistic averages.

But there is another effect too…

This is an effect of culture and lifestyle. If you take the people of are particular part of the world, they will have different traditions and different customs. In some countries, sport is actively encouraged. As a result the people are fitter in general, not just for running but for other sports too. In a country where there is less money, then on average, more children might be outside running about playing cricket, than inside playing video games.

Some countries have good weather for running around in too, which is why temperate countries tend to have different levels of ability in certain sports too.

So, there are lots of reasons, and they can actually be quite complicated. And, unless you know all the effects, it can be very difficult to predict the outcomes. And even then there might be some interesting new things that affect the outcome.

For instance, who’s better at football? Brazil (Warm tropical country, 190 million people, where football has a massive following) or Norway (cold Arctic country, 5 million people, and football is less popular).

You might assume Brazil… but for the World Cup game on 23rd June 1998, you would have been wrong!

So, yes, there are averages and there are effects. But you need to be pretty careful how you interpret them, as there can be a lot of subtle factors and hidden surprises.

(Such as you secret running training, you’re going to start tomorrow at 5 a.m. every morning!)