Gaudin B. (ed.), Wolde B. (ed.). (2017). Kenyan and Ethiopian athletics : towards an alternative scientific approach.
Addis-Abeba : IRD ; CFEE, 236 p. ISBN 978-2-7099-2404-7.
Titre du document
Kenyan and Ethiopian athletics : towards an alternative scientific approach
Année de publication
2017
Type de document
Ouvrage
Auteurs
Gaudin B., Wolde B.
Source
Addis-Abeba : IRD ; CFEE, 2017,
236 p. ISBN 978-2-7099-2404-7
Expectations are high for revelations about the 'secret' of East-African runners, and they hover over this book as they do over any other publication of the topic. Has science finally unveiled the mystery of these athletes? Will this book tell us why these guys are so good at long distance running? Well, in part it will, yes. Especially if you are ready to open your mind, to understand that high altitude has more effect on the runners' motivation than on their physiology (see introduction), and to admit that your quest for such 'secrets' is part of a misleading belief in their supposed biological otherness. It is important to remind ourselves that so far, and despite decades of research, no study in the life sciences has ever provided evidence of any sort of biological otherness among the populations of Kenya and Ethiopia which produce the best athletes in the world of middle and long distance running. This lack of positive results reveals a failure and should logically - if science were the only dimension at stake - lead to the abandonment of the paradigm based on the biological otherness of East-African, and more broadly of 'Black' athletes.
Plan de classement
Société, développement social [106]
;
Sociétés, développement culturel [112]
