Annotated Bibliography

Rebecca Fagan

Brooks, M. (21 July 2014). Why are Jamaicans so Good at Sprinting? Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/21/jamaicans-sprinting-athletics-

commonwealth-games

Michael Brooks assesses different traits and reasons surrounding Jamaican athletes

strength in track and field. He references a specific type of ACE gene, correlated with

being successful at sprinting, and how Jamaicas proportion of people with it is larger

than West Africas, which is larger than Europes and Japans. Another possible

contribution is that 75% of all Jamaicans have a certain gene associated with sprinting,

compared to 70% of only professional athletes in America. From a cultural standpoint, he

also explained how the countrys history with slavery might have also altered their

genetic make-up overtime. This articles explanation of the gene relates to the biological

side of characteristics influencing running ability argument. It is useful to have some

biological examples and reasoning, even though the capstone paper focuses more on

cultural factors. Also, the author mention of slavery is also really interesting and could

work well in the paper.

De La Rey, C., & Paruk, Zubeda (1993). Race and gender constraints in SA road running.

Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, 17, 25-28.

In this article, the authors analyzed different factors that have influenced the distribution

of runners in South Africa. Specifically, they focused on women and differences between

races, as well as how this gender compared to men. In South Africa, the number of

women runners relative to men remains small and the growth in the participation of
 women has been racially uneven (De La Rey and Zubeda 25). The authors also reference

the reasoning behind the participation levels as possibly being that there is a dual

perception of running as a sport for men and whites (De La Rey and Zubeda 3), and

despite benefits from the sport, many do not want to participate because of societal

expectations. This article strongly examines the cultural analysis of South Africa. Even

though it did not focus on professional runners, the way the authors described the country

offers comparisons to the US, which could be an interesting addition to the capstone

paper.

Kong, P. W., & de Heer, Hendrick (1 Dec. 2008). Anthropometric, gait, and strength

characteristics of Kenyan distance runners. Journal of Sports Sciences and Medicine, 7,

499-504.

In this article, results are presented from a study testing the various influences on Kenyan

runners. The researchers tested six college runners from Kenya and physical attributes

such as BMI, height, stride length at certain speeds, amount of times they have contact

with the ground when running per leg, etc. One of the interesting facts the article

presented was a specific tribe in Kenya where the majority of the countrys strong runners

are from. This information will set the direction for future research regarding the cultural

or biological differences in that tribe compared to others in Kenya. The statistics

presented in the introduction of the article regarding the make-up of Kenyans in the world

rankings in different events will also be used in the paper and final project. For example,

the chart shows in the marathon, 58% of the top 50 times in the world in 2007 were

Kenyans and in the 1500 42% were Kenyans. These statistics are fascinating, and can

direct upcoming research to finding more statistics like this for other countries.
Mallon, B. (2012). Medals by nation & records by Olympics. Track and Field News, 3, 1-53.

The charts I analyzed in this article exhibit the number of Olympic medals each country

has in track and field. The date showed the US dominates the sport as a whole, for as of

2012, they had 757 medals, whereas 2nd place is Great Britain with 196. Kenya is in 6th

with 68 medals and Jamaica is in 13th with 54. Counties such as Venezuela, Colombia,

Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, etc. have only had 1. When only

analyzing data for men, the US is still in first with 660, Great Britain is still in 2nd with

148, Kenya in 6th with 59, and Jamaica in 16th with 24. For women, the US is barely in 1st

with 97, the Soviet Union was able to earn 84 medals when it was still together, Jamaica

is in 9th with 30, and Kenya was in 24th with only 9. These statistics can be used in the

paper as a basis to show what countries dominate the sport in general. It will provide a

basis for how to find countries to analyze. It was interesting to see what countries have

only received one medal, which would be a strong topic to focus on in future weeks. It

also provides more questions to focus on, such is why is the US drastically more

successful than any other country? This finding may influence future research on whether

or not socioeconomic statuses of countries affect their abilities.

Reyes, G (8 Apr. 2014). Kenya: Inside [Episode 1]. FloTrack. Video retrieved from

http://www.flotrack.org.

In the first episode of this powerful documentary, various aspects of the city and runners

of Iten, Kenya are portrayed. Different workouts Kenyan runners completed were

presented and explained in the documentary, and it also showed American runners

training in Kenya and their point of view of and how and why these athletes are so strong

in running. One of the American runners stated how running and training for them is an
 opportunity to have a better life and make more money than they would otherwise.

Therefore, they have a different mindset than most Americans and people from more

developed countries have because for them, training is everything [they] do in [their

lives], which is an interesting idea to use in the paper and project. Also, the various clips

from this episode of the documentary, as well as quotations stated by the coach or

different athletes portrayed in the video can be used. It also covers the cultural side of the

topic, and signifies a starting point for cultural differences between countries and how

that affects their abilities.

Reyes, G. (15 Apr. 2014). Kenya: Inside [Episode 2]. FloTrack. Video retrieved from

http://www.flotrack.org.

Throughout this episode, Coach Brother Colm OConnell, and Coach Renato Canova

Wilson Kipsand, who holds the world record in the marathon, explain what makes

Kenyans drawn to running and how they train. They emphasize the fact that people live

around professional runners in this country, therefore running is a second nature. Also,

training is something everyone does every day, because in order to get places, running

is the easiest and most efficient option. Also, OConnell emphasized that if you want to

become a strong runner, you need to go to school. These descriptions are ones to use in

the capstone essay and project to compare the country to the United States, and then to

other countries. In America, running is not something everyone dreams at being

successful at or has to do every day. In Kenya, its their lifestyle. The testimonies from

Kipsand, Coach OConnell, and Coach Renato Canova will be valuable in the capstone,

because their beliefs powerfully exemplify Kenya as a whole regarding running.

 Examples mentioned in the documentary, such as the benefits training in Kenya can have

on other foreign athletes, will also be included.

Reyes, G. (22 Apr. 2014). Kenya: Inside [Episode 3]. FloTrack. Video retrieved from

http://www.flotrack.org.

The racing side of Kenyan athletes is conveyed throughout this episode of the

documentary. One of the ideas reinforced in it was how education is critical to being

successful, for if you have a good mind, then you are going to go on and use your talent

right. The differences between the overall approaches and beliefs of Kenyan runners

versus any other runner are also explained as well. Kenyans are more in tune with their

bodies and can thus coach themselves, but in order to be successful, a running career is

something which must be in you. In your heart. Similar to episode 2, the comparisons

made in this episode between Kenyan runners and others can be used. One of the most

interesting parts that differs from America was how they explained the value of being

able to run and race on ones own without the support of a coach (also mentioned in

episode 1). This is something personal examples can be drawn for, regarding how having

a coach has helped oneself, which also explains differences between countries.

Reyes, G. (18 Mar. 2014). Symmonds & Manzano: Mexico: Inside (Episode 2).

FloTrack. Video retrieved from http://www.flotrack.org.

In the second episode of this documentary, the runners did a long run at a high altitude

level in Mexico. One of the famous distance runners from the country, Herman Silva, was

also portrayed. The difficulty of this run was emphasized in how these runners are

capable of running under 4 minutes for a mile, yet their first mile was in 9:09, but [one

of the runners] heart rate was up to like 180. After the run, the narrator analyzed the
 differences between Nick Symmonds and Leo Manzano. They are both 30 years old, but

people project their potential successes differently even though they are equally talented.

The narrator attributed this to how Leo is a little bit timid [which] carries over into

contracts and it carries over into racing. Various perspectives from this episode,

especially the differences between how the public views athletes, will be valuable to the

paper. It would also be interesting to compare cultures from Mexico to a country such as

Kenya. In parts of this documentary, the areas were impoverished and more rural, similar

to the environment in Kenya. It could be useful to analyze how these countries are

similar, yet how they are differentespecially since Kenya is much more well-known for

running than Mexico.

Scott, R. A., Irving, R., Irwin, L., Morrison, E., Charlton, V., Austin, K., Pitsiladis, Y. P.

(2010). ACTN3 and ACE genotypes in elite Jamaican and US sprinters. Medicine and

Science in Sports and Exercise, 42(1), 107-112.

In this study, the researchers examined two enzymes known to be two of the most

studied performance genes (Scott et al. 107) and how they affect professional Jamaican

runners and African American male runners from the US who compete in various

sprinting events. One of the interesting findings from their study was that athletes from

Jamaica did not differ in the two genotypes when compared to non-athletes in the

country, whereas male athletes from the US showed a larger presence of one genotype

than the non-runners. Although there was a large amount of scientific data outside of

personal comprehension, the conclusions and reasoning behind their study would be

beneficial to the capstone paper. This author provides a conforming viewpoint to the

question of how geography affects running ability.

Velliquete, Nickolas. (11 Mar. 2014). Symmonds & Manzano: Mexico: Inside (Episode 1).

FloTrack. Video retrieved from http://www.flotrack.org.

In this episode of a documentary from flotrack, aspects of culture in Mexico are

exhibited. Leo Manzano, who was also a main part of the episode, was an Olympic silver

medalist in 2012 representing the US. He is 30 years old, which the narrator mentions as

being unusual in the sport and in the events he runs. However, it is emphasized that he is

still able to be successful despite his age. One of the other people in the episode even

mentioned how speed is one of the last things to go, in regards to age and losing

fitness. Though the focus was not on the country itself regarding running, it did provide

some insight on possible factors to research in the future. Age could be an interesting

angle to take during part of the paper and how that plays a role in performance capability.

Another alternative viewpoint to take regarding environment is altitude and how it

enhances or inhibits training. Overall, this documentary had pieces to include in the

capstone paper and presentation to represent Mexico.