Why does the caribbean produce so many quality sprinters?

[Pondlife]

How much of it is to do with the fact that many of these guys would have very little/nothing/live on or near the poverty line if they did not become succesful atheletes?

True but that's also the case for many countries/people.

I just thought it was interesting that a group of tiny islands produce a disproportionately high number of sprinters at the top level.

[EternalOptimist]

Usain Bolt runs at 31mph which sounds good, but if he hits a child there's a 40% chance they'll die.

We have some contenders on my current project. running down the boss and jumping to conclusions are guaranteed golds
throwing the baby out with the bathwater is a possible

[d000hg]

It's their national sport rather than a specialist event everywhere else. Just like how S. Korea always dominate archery... simply they put far more focus on it like we do with sports like cricket and rugby.

[Raoul Duke]

It's the Slave Trade

Jamaica produces the best sprinters in the world by some distance. Per capita, it currently has 80 x the number of top sprinters versus the USA. (Both had 3 athletes in the 100m final, Jamaica population is 3m, USA 250m), Linford Christie is Jamaican, Jess Ennis is half Jamaican.

African people were brought to the Caribbean as slaves, without the slave trade they would not now be indigenous to the Caribbean. When slaves were selected to be brought to the Caribbean, certain traits were desirable e.g. physical strength for the manual labour that they were expected to do. These men and women were **selected** on the basis of these desirable attributes.

Fast forward a few hundred years and voila: Usain Bolt et al are the best in the world.

[ChrisPackit]

When I was in Barbados a number of years ago, we drove past this local guy who was completely starkers naked and the taxi driver commented he was a well known fruit cake. My wife, however, commented on the disproportionate size of his manhood. - He looked like 'Jake The Peg' - So my suggestion would be they are cheating as they have an extra leg over many of the other competitors ....

[EternalOptimist]

When I was in Barbados a number of years ago, we drove past this local guy who was completely starkers naked and the taxi driver commented he was a well known fruit cake. My wife, however, commented on the disproportionate size of his manhood. - He looked like 'Jake The Peg' - So my suggestion would be they are cheating as they have an extra leg over many of the other competitors ....

yep, we drove past him as well. Mrs EO looked disparagingly and said, 'must be cold out there tonight'