WHY BLACKS ALWAYS WIN? BY BABA ALI MUSTAPHA

It was summer, 1936 in Berlin. The Flags of Nazi Germany, carrying the sign of Swastika, fluttered around the stadium. From his special rostrum, Hitler watched with apprehension and discomfort an athletic event. An American black named Jesse Owens was overtaking all his white rivals, and soon he succeeded in establishing a new record of the world’s for 200-meter race. This black’s victory clearly falsified the Nazi leader’s theory of superiority of the Aryan race.

Fifty-five years later, had Hitler been alive and watching the 1991 world athletic competition would certainly have had a heart attack, because, among the participant in 100-metres race at the starting line not even one white was to be seen. In the speed 200 and 400 meter race, to all finalist were black.

In the last a century, black athletes have conquered all platforms of Olympic running championship. In the decades of the 1950s and 1960s, out of every three championship medals of 100, 200 and 400 meters speed running two medals were for black athletes. Moreover, 20 years later in Los Angeles and Seoul Olympic up to the Last Olympic was Usain Bolt of Jamaica won nine Gold medals. All the medal of different running events both speed and handicap-were won by blacks. Not even one bronze medal was won by whites.

The black athletes victory in world athletic competition races, is surprising and curious. Apart from the athletic even in the boxing almost all the heavyweight champion in the last century were black. From the Americans Mahammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield to the present heavyweight champion a Nigerian born, Briton Anthony Joshua. Furthermore, almost all top players of American NBA (basketball) were from black race. Since four decades it has drawn the attention of scientists and researchers. Is there any special quality in blacks of physical and genetic nature which makes them victorious? Is it due to some special genes, characterizing stature, eye, eyebrow, ear, nose and even some moral behavioural peculiarities passed on from one generation to another and being more active and more developed in black?.

In order to find a convincing answer, a number of researchers have studied for years such points carefully and scientifically. The first conclusion is that a majority of the speed-racing champions are from America, but as far as their own ancestry is concerned, they have roots in West Africa. This is because in the past centuries when slave trade was at its peak, the ancestors of the present black of America, were carried in groups as slaves from West Africa to the other side of Atlantic ocean. Now the descendants of some oppressed people stand on Olympic championship platforms.

Most of them are nationals of the United States, but there are others groups, too, who live in Canada, Jamaica, Cuba and other points of Sentral and South America.

 

Yet, during the slave trade certainly not all the members of the West African tribes went as slaves. In fact most of them remained in their homeland and still their descendants continue living in newly independent countries. But among them, no runners have arisen who could challenge their blood relative champions of America. Therefore, is the running ability among such tribes are hereditary, and result from a special gene, why then those who have been carried to America have shown the utmost capacities while those who remained have shown no distinction in this connection up to now?

Claude Boucher a Canadian biologist with many years of study on the question, replies in a report on his studies, in the negative. He says that up to now no gene has been discovered to show a direct relationship with the capabilities for running. Yet, many experiments on the West African blacks, whether those who have been living in America for generations, or those who continue to live in their original land reveal that in the muscle structure of those people there exist differences compared to the others, in that special issues for rapid and instantaneous movements have developed in their enzyme attacking the operation of metabolism and producing energy in a better and more rapid way. The growth of such tissues can be due to genetic reason. However, many genes are limited to one possibility or aptitude and only under suitable conditions of living environment, or by exercise and development, can they become effective. It is due to the same reason that blacks who emigrated to America, by virtue of suitable conditions of the new environment and by exercise and physical education, have been able to develop their running aptitude; while, their relative in Africa who had no possibilities to develop their genetic potential, could not utilize it in the sport competitions and have naturally gained no success. It is possible that they will overcome this handicap in the future.

The theory of Professor Boucher has attracted the attention of other scientists, including another Canadian biologist named Simonov. He gathered other evidence to confirm Boucher’s theory. Simonov points out that until the end of the decade of 1980s, the sport experts were of the opinion that the black champions were only distinguished in speed races, but in the Seoul Olympic the unexpected success of Kenya and Ethiopian runners in handicap races, of 800-, 500- and 5000- meter races astonished all the people. After that in the World competition of track and field sports of Tokyo (Japan) in 1991, the Kenyan competitors in the handicap of 10,000 meters were victorious. From among 10 finalists of this competition, 8 were Kenyans who joined all the championship medals. Kenya and Ethiopia are in East Africa and Simonov believes that a kind of gene for running is also present in blacks of that region. Except that firstly, these people have only in the recent years have been thinking to develop and utilize their aptitude in this connection. Secondly, since the region is mountainous, the genetic aptitude of the people has been more compatible of the handicap race. The blacks of this region from the childhood are used to long walking in the mountains and there are times that they walk for 30km per day. Under such conditions movement is slower but the distance longer, the body used its fat reserves in order to produce energy, while; in rapid movements and short distance, only hydrates of carbons are able to provide energy. Thus in the plains and flat areas of South Africa, the black have the privilege of speed and in the mountainous areas of East Africa, they have the privilege of resistance. Both these qualities may have genetic roots.

Yet, if this is true and genes can control man’s abilities, for running and probably in other sport, such as jumping, discus, throwing, swimming and weight-lifting, in view of the rapid advancements in genetic science and genetic engineering, wouldn’t it become true soon that by replacing one or more genes, an indolent and untalented person in sports suddenly becomes a champion in a desirable sports event!! Of course, at present this is only giving away to imagination. God forbid that such a speculation comes true like some Jules Vernes’ predictions. If it happens, we may have to ring the death knell of sports and Olympic competitions. If today doping is considered the cancer of Olympics, affecting the grafting of genes or making of champions would certainly means the doom of Olympic games.

Baba Ali Mustapha is with the Department of Planning and Research, Ministry of Environment, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

Reference:

Echo of Islam, published by Islamic Thought Foundation, Tehran, Iran (1992).