Why is Usain Bolt lightning fast: Drugs, doping, genetics, diet, training, slavery, or the lack of NFL scouts?

A number of journalists, experts, academics, and other contributors chimed in last week as Jamaica's Usain Bolt dominated the track world with 3 gold medals 3 world records, as a ton of electrons and ink discussed his Beijing Olympics performance and antics.  Here are some of the candidates for performance enhancement:

1. Diet: Chicken nuggets, and yams.  (The Mirror)

After the race Bolt gave the credit for his incredible stamina not to a scientific high-protein regime meticulously planned by a team of dieticians - but plenty of chicken nuggets.

He said: "I woke around 11am and decided to watch some TV and had some nuggets.

"Then I slept for a couple of hours more. Then I got some more nuggets and came to the track." Bolt's diet is typical of his laidback attitude summed up by the slogan on his nation's yellow and green strip that reads "Jamaica - No Problem."

Bolt's father gave credit to a childhood diet of yams.  However, Coed magazine says Bolt enjoys a Red Bull and a beer too.

2.  Environment: Train at home (Jamaica) and do not train in the stinking corrupt USA.  The Jamaican Gleaner.

GOOD HOME training - like good home cooking - never hurt anyone. And veteran track coach Dennis 'DJ' Johnson believes that developing track talent in Jamaica is the main reason for the country's remarkable showing at the Beijing Olympics.

Most of Jamaica's successful track athletes at the Games, including triple gold medallist Usain Bolt, train locally. At previous Games, that was not the case; many athletes came up through the college circuit in the United States.

"Here, they have better instruction, we have resources, sponsors," Johnson told The Sunday Gleaner. "The most important thing is, they're home where they're comfortable."

So BALCO shut down those nasty US colleges (no one ever reported BALCO supplied drugs to NCAA athletes).  (Also note Merlene Ottey tested positive for non-BALCO steroids).  Furthermore,  MVP trains athletes outside of Jamaica.

Some of Jamaica's greatest athletes, including Herb McKenley, Donald Quarrie, Bertland Cameron, Merlene Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert, Grace Jackson and Deon Hemmings, came up through the competitive US college ranks.

But, Johnson pointed out, the stench of drugs in American athletics has alienated sponsors and administrators in that country.

"Track and field in the (United) States is not what it used to be. The drug thing has scared a lot of the colleges," Johnson said...

Traditional track powerhouses like San José State (Johnson's alma mater), University of Oregon, University of Nebraska (Ottey's old school) and New York Tech have either shut down or scaled back their programmes in the aftermath of the BALCO drug scandal that resulted in bans for high-profile athletes like Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery.

3.  Doping: Speaking of BALCO, Victor Conte suspects something fishy in those Island runners:

On December 12, 2007, I advised WADA's Dick Pound to routinely send disguised drug testers to Jamaica, and to begin doing so immediately. I had received information about a specific drug supplier - WADA received this person's name, address and phone number - who was allegedly working with elite track athletes. I also explained to Pound the importance of "offseason" testing and that testing at competitions is ineffective. The offseason is when athletes use anabolic steroids in conjunction with intensive weight training and develop the explosive strength base that serves them throughout the competitive season.

Bolt and the Jamaicans claim (complained) they have been extensively drug tested...at the Olympics Games.  Note that Jamaica didn't have  national drug agency until days ago.

(More on the Jamaican Need for Speed after the jump:  Genetics, Slavery, and Choice of sport.  However we would note that the doping controversy will continue until the IAAF and the IOC actually schedule the tests (including random off-season testing), then publish the results for all competitors..which won't eliminate the untestable drugs like HGH)

4.  Genetics: Some writers look toward genetics.  A professor from Jamaica points toward a gene the press calls 'actinin' (sic) which reproduces in abundance on the island.

The answer is Actinen A, according to a joint study by the  University of Glasgow and the University of the West Indies (UWI). 

Over the years, researchers tested over 200 Jamaican athletes, and found that 70 per cent of them have Actinen A in their fast-twitch muscle fibres, those which help men like Asafa Powell or Usain Bolt run like lightning.

- However  'Genetic Future' authored by a real geneticist, says that DNA hogwash.  The real gene is ACTN3

At this point I probably should confess to having a more than casual interest in this story: I was one of the authors on the first study showing an association between this gene and elite athlete status back in 2003, and this gene has been the central focus of my research for a good part of the last six years. (The opinions I express here are purely my own, by the way, and in no way are meant to represent the views of my research institute.)

The ACTN3 gene encodes a protein called α-actinin-3 ("Actinen A" is a misnomer of uncertain origin propagated by lazy reporters), which is found within the fast fibres of muscle - the cells that are required for generating rapid, forceful contraction in activities such as sprinting and weightlifting. Interestingly, the human ACTN3 gene comes in two forms in the general population: there's a normal, functional version called 577R, and a "defective" version called 577X, which contains a single base change that prevents the production of α-actinin-3. People who have two copies of the 577X version (I'll refer to them as X/X) produce absolutely no α-actinin-3 in their fast muscle fibres.

And three reasons why this conclusion is false:

1. The difference in frequency between Jamaicans and Europeans is not as great as it would appear. ..it's 98% in Jamaicans compared to about 82% in Europeans. In other words, in both populations a sizeable majority of individuals have an ACTN3 status compatible with elite sprint performance.


2. The ACTN3 frequency reported for the Jamaicans by Morrison is not unique to Jamaicans... There's simply no clear relationship between the frequency of this variant in a population and its capacity to produce sprinting superstars.
   


3. Finally, when Usain Bolt was pacing restlessly at the starting line of the 100 metre sprint - even in the very first round of Olympic heats - the very low frequency of X/X individuals among Olympic sprinters means he was lined up against a group of athletes who almost certainly all express α-actinin-3!

5. Training: Is the Jamaican training superior or maybe the equipment?  Not really says the CSM:

By US standards, the training facilities are second class. Jamaica's top sprinters cram into UTECH's tiny gym to pump rusty weights, and they often practice on the school's basic grass track.       

"We have to be creative, because we don't have the resources," says Davis, explaining that the lanes of the track are marked with diesel and burned because the school can't afford the machine that lays down chalk lines every week or so. "We had a choice: complain about the resources and do nothing or work with what we have."

Maybe every one should start training on crappy grass tracks, and with rusty old weights?

6.  History of slavery: Dr. Herrb Elliot, Jamaica's main man in medicine says slavery is the key (Josh Peters at Yahoo):

Jamaica’s Olympic team doctor, who’s prepared to fend off accusations that banned drugs fueled the country’s sprinting success at these Olympic Games, said the record-breaking run stems in part from the history of slavery.

Herb Elliott, who oversees drug testing in Jamaica and serves as the Olympic team’s head doctor, said African slaves who ended up in Jamaica were among the strongest and most determined – qualities, he says, that have helped the likes of Usain Bolt, the 22-year-old Jamaican track star...

“They say that our aggression, our toughness, came out of our slave situation,” said Elliott, who is black. The team doctor said he subscribes to the view “considering that Jamaica had more slavery rebellion than any country in the world.”

- Not so fast says another academic:

Though Jamaica’s ties to achievements on the track is indisputable, Evelyn Higginbotham, a professor of African-American studies at Harvard University and a civil rights activist, said Elliott’s theory regarding slavery has no basis in fact.

“On many levels it doesn’t make sense,” she said. “Slavery is not unique to black people historically.”

7.  Focus on track: If Bolt were in America he would be in an NFL uniform not a track (Peters again)

Bolt grew up playing cricket and turned his attention to track when he realized he was the fastest boy in his grade school in rural Jamaica. His personal story supports the views of Diana Thorburn, a professor at the University of the West Indies, who cited the dearth of athletic options in Jamaica.

“If Usain Bolt were born in North America or Europe, he would be now earning far more money as a professional basketball player with the odds of a much longer and more lucrative career,” she wrote in an email.

A combination of factors..ah perhaps a reasoned voice, found here: The Jamaican Observer looks at the multi-factorial  approach to sprinting success.

The controversy will continue, especially if Jamaica lies outside a rigorous off-seasons testing program (compared with Great Britain).  If Bolt can continue his world domination, and if the Jamaicans can bring themselves into line with modern doping control, more believers will surface.  Until then we will get a steady diet of yams, stupid US colleges, slavery, grass tracks and rusty weights, and word wars on blogs.

 

Comments

[Yardman]

I think this is the worst article i have ever read.

[yeah]

I find this rather odd that one of the poorest country in the Caribbean based on IMF GDP ranking. Is unable to source the money to build state of the art training facilities but can develop sophisticated undetectable BALCONIAN drugs of which only they have access to and of which they are the caretaker of all information concerned, laughable if you ask me. Fraser and the MVP camp trains in a weight room, a space less than 300 square feet at the back of a gymnasium filled with university students completing a phys-ed classes. The average high school in the United States has facilities that are many times “better” and more sophisiticated.

There is poetic irony here lies in the simplicity of this setup. MVP cranks out world class athletes year after year counting on a tight budget, green grass, and campus parking lots.What really baffles the mind is how this poor country turns out gold medal contenders running up university dorm stairs and around grass ovals.
Oh I guess it makes sense to think they are able to line up in-front of the richer countries in the world with GDP seven times more to get or develop these clandestine technology.
And if its not been developed in Jamiaca it must be developed elsewhere with the sole purpose and objective of creating a line of superhuman Jamaican Athletes.

Wow or did i just inadvertently uncovered this wondering conspiracy hmmmmmmm

[john one]

boring.get a life.your article makes no sense and is full of crap facts.how can a country without a proper foresic lab to counter iot's massive crime problems get money for a super drugs lab for a few athlete who make very little money?
are you saying human beigns are not capable of great feats?

[john one]

boring.get a life.your article makes no sense and is full of crap facts.how can a country without a proper foresic lab to counter iot's massive crime problems get money for a super drugs lab for a few athlete who make very little money?
are you saying human beigns are not capable of great feats?

[next]

WHAT ABOUT MICHEAL PHELPS???????????????????????????????????????

THE GOOD AMERICAN BOY SHOULDNT BE SUSPECTED OF DOPING HUH???

HE DID UNBELEIVABLE THINGS DURING THE OLYMPICS. WHERE ARE THE ARTICLES ABOUT PHELPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOW MANY TEST HAVE PHELPS UNDERGONE????????????????

[Clive]

You are just bad minded and grudgeful!! And quoting Conte is akin to having bank robbers guard the Federal Reserve or Judas saying to Jesus 'it wasn't me'.

You are disingenuous - Ottey's B sample was negative. Ask yourself this question - how is it that Jamaican Athletes have been winning in the NCAA but always losing to the US runners in the big meets? Was it as a result of a man name Conte?

Now the WADA has leveled the play field and you all can't 'juice up' anymore you try to implicate Jamaica who has benefited from tests by WADA. Thank God for WADA...may they stay ahead of the likes of Conte forever. WADA, Jamaica welcomes you to come and stay if you want...test us daily, but test the US too.

[14yo Chinese Gymnast]

DJ Johnson Please choose:

A: "Here, they have better instruction, we have resources, sponsors,"

or

B: "By US standards, the training facilities are second class. Jamaica's top sprinters cram into UTECH's tiny gym to pump rusty weights, and they often practice on the school's basic grass track.

OR

"We have to be creative, because we don't have the resources," says Davis, explaining that the lanes of the track are marked with diesel and burned because the school can't afford the machine that lays down chalk lines every week or so. "We had a choice: complain about the resources and do nothing or work with what we have."

[14yo Chinese Gymnast]

Please ignore the second "OR"

[Ellie]

Here's my 2 cents.
Jamaicans do not have to defend themselves. Probably we should stop responding to their uninformed, stupid and sore losers articles. We know how proud Jamaicans are and we would have had many more gold medals if it were not cheats in the US.
Our athletes do not have the luxurious training conditions that the developed countries have. Adversity is the best motivator in life.

[wateva]

Why dont you post more articles on U.S. athletes like phelps, morgan hamm. Why all the focus on athletes from foreign nations. White american athletes are not CHEATERS too??????????????????????Its obvious you people here have an agenda. What kinda PEDS do you think Phelps is on. Why dont you ask Victor Conte for advice about that. Dos evictor conte also think Phelps just has talent.

[clive]

Please click on or copy and paste the link below to see WADA's response to this American Media campaign of disinformation on Jamaica and Usain Bolt. This should put an end to the trash being published in the American media.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4668124a27896.html

[Steroid Nation]

1. People need to realize we at Steroid Nation did not write the articles above. We link to them and quote them. Those articles do not represent our opinions which are: achievement is the sum of a complex group of variables including (but not limited to) genetics, environment, culture, training, motivation, medical care, coaching, peers, and yes sometimes doping. Rhetorically one could ask: 'Why does Canada produce great hockey players?'

2. Please read the content of our blog. We have a multitude of articles about USA athletes who dope. We not very kind to them.

3. Michael Phelps has nothing to do with Usain Bolt and Jamaican sprinters. To even bring up a swimmer is a tremendous violation of any logic. It's smokescreen. And we did put in an item about Phelp's 'doping'. Read it.

4. What exactly is t his 'disinformation'?

Again, this would all be solved if the IOC required a standard of biological testing before any country is allowed to compete in the Olympics. Is any country allowed to participate in world financial markets without standard good practices?

We would love Jamaica to prove to the world that the athletes are clean.

When 3 of the last 4 100M WR holders were dopers, it stands to reason fans will be suspicious of new records. Talk is cheap. Prove to the world, that Jamaican sprinters are the real thing!

[Clive]

Bulls...I suppose that in your country you are guilty until you are proven innocent...well that not what we think...you prove that they are guilty...with facts ... not innuendos. Shame on you... choosing to be judge, jury and executioners all at the same time. We do not have to prove we are clean...we are clean ...you prove otherwise and do not judge us by your low standards.

Read the article re the Head of WADA comments on this issue...I guess you are afraid of the truth. That is what is wrong with you Americans...you think that you are the repository of all knowledge when everyone else are fools.

You are all bad minded because a third world country has 'whupped' you good and proper.

[!!!!!!!!]

Steroid Nation

Typical WHITE behavior the black amn is gulity but the white man is clean.

"Michael Phelps has nothing to do with Usain Bolt and Jamaican sprinters. To even bring up a swimmer is a tremendous violation of any logic".

SO Phelps cant be on dope bcause he's a swimmer??? Its easy for yo to accuse a black man from Jamaic aof doping but not a white american boy? Your american so you would't dare writ eartciles abou micheal phelps. Karma is a bitch!!! Keep hoping for someones demise and it will come back to you!!

[!!!!!!!!]

(We would love Jamaica to prove to the world that the athletes are clean.

When 3 of the last 4 100M WR holders were dopers, it stands to reason fans will be suspicious of new records. Talk is cheap. Prove to the world, that Jamaican sprinters are the real thing!)

Why dont you question micheal phelps performance also during the olympics. 8 gold medals and 7 records sometimes with half an hour rest before his next swim. IS that not superhuman? He's white so Phelps just has pure talent while the black guys is the obvious cheater????

Wh dont you do an article on the american swimmers that you suspect of cheating. One of them got caught already. I wonder how many more of them are out there.

[!!!!!!!!]

World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) director general David Howman says the Americans seemingly building a doping case against Usain Bolt should look at themselves first.

Bolt, 23, has come under scrutiny since his triple gold, triple world record performances on the track at the Beijing Olympics, winning the 100m-200m double plus gold in the 4x100m relay.

Part of the pressure comes from the fact Jamaica has been slow to set up its own anti-doping programme but Howman, a New Zealander, dismissed that.

"Sometimes these doubts are cast but I would suggest some Americans could look at themselves first. They had cheats in 2000 [Marion Jones] and cheats in 2004 so they think no one wins without cheating.

"Why is the emphasis on that fellow and not, for example, on [eight gold medal winner] Michael Phelps? Both those guys are just freakish athletes."

EXCELLENT POINT DAVID HOWMAN. THE AMERICANS AT STERIOD NATION FIND IT EASY TO ACCUSE BOLT OF DOPING BUT NOT THE AMERICAN PHELPS. SUCH HYPOCRISY AND DOUBLE STANDARD. THE WHITEMAN ALWAYS REARS HIS UGLY RACIST HEAD lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Heppu]

Jamaicans seem to feel insulted. I personally do not believe there is any one who has ever run below 9.9 seconds 100 m without using PEDs at some stage of the career. No one says that Jamaica has invented new drugs. It is enough to use good old steroids during off season. We were told that there is a new HGH test in Peking. Where was it? Or did this rumour work as a deterrent? Mike Phelps has faces which seem to tell a story about using HGH during his career. All in all there were hundreds of drug cheats - in excess of age cheaters and doped horses - in Peking, only handful were caught. Cheaters came from all the continents. Jamaicans certainly were not leading dopers. Bolt has talent.

[Janelle]

With regards to Merlene Ottey testing positive, it was admitted to be a lab error!

[vg]

The comments here regarding racism are pathetic. This website chronicles doping stories throughout the world and has literally had thousands of articles regarding athletes everywhere from China to the USA, to claim that it is singling out black athletes is completely untrue. Want proof?

Here are some links to articles on white athletes that appear on the front page of the blog:

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/scottsdale-anti.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/nandrolone-load.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/brazilian-maurr.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/and-the-lazy-bu.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/thursday-evenin.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/the-frenchg-tau.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/defending-a-dop.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/roid-rage-accus.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/kwelly-sotherto.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/ex-tampa-bay-bu.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/more-on-greek-o.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/was-olympic-rac.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/oussama-melloul.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/silver-medal-fo.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/greek-hurdler-f.html

Honestly, still don't believe me? How about these articles on HORSES

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/ireland-horse-d.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/equiblock-named.html

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/08/huge-olympic-ho.html

Actually read the blog before you insult it's author and start throwing out ridiculous accusations.

[Jamaican]

U people are real assholes, all i see here is jealousy. So what if they train with rusty weights and run of grass track, even with u ppl great sdvsnce equipments ur still losers.

[Jamaican]

Fuck unuh we nu have fi prove notiin, unuh favour shit. bet if it was one of ur ppl u wouldnt be writing these things or saying that the person is doping gweh, guh suck unuh self & get a life. Bad mind ppl

[john one]

i say,get a better computer,with a better keyboard as you will be writing alot more articles about our athletes,because are taking this shit over forever.
jamaica land we love

ps.go get a life

[john one]

man say he's got a suspicion of every athlete..lol..are you wheelchair bound?..damn you will be suspecting them in the special olympics also..lol
man need to get a life and stop hating other ppl's acheivments

[seniorp12]

IF BOLT ran out of his lane and the medal was awarded to an American, am sure there would be no drug argument.AMERICANS your kingdom has fallen.Please dont send the Marines to invade the Caribbean insearch of drug.Am sure the FBI and CIA are on the alert.

[wittgenstein]

I've posted several times, and really just want to add this note. In track, to lower your time in a sprint by anywhere from two-tenths to five-tenths of a second is, as another author penned, a huge red flag. Look at the times of the absolute best sprinters over the past twenty to thirty years. Clean sprinters can change their times, once they hit peak, maybe a tenth to two-tenths, depending upon circumstances. More often, they post slower times. Even doped sprinters have inconsistency...but the sudden surges down happen in a flurry...all of a sudden they are posting clusters of sub-9/8's etc. Why? The 200 meters is a sterner test...it isn't by accident that times in it decreased very slowly. Most of us who follow track have a very hard time with M. Johnson's record (and his physique)...to have Mr. Bolt suddenly drop .37 from his own best time is, well, intergalactic. Yes, he's a tall man, and has a long stride. I ran on track with a guy who had a freakish stride length (and decent speed), but he was unable to translate that into world class times (not bad times though). It was the strength to produce the turnover that was lacking. At that height, it requires great strength (and amazing endurance) to continue the churning necessary. And at 180 meters, the lactic acid is your enemy. So. As I said, maybe Bolt is a new human type...something incredible. But I doubt it.