Demographic characteristics of elite Ethiopian endurance runners.
BACKGROUND
The dominance of East-African athletes in distance running remains largely unexplained; proposed reasons include favorable genetic endowment and optimal environmental conditions.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the demographics of elite Ethiopian athletes with the general Ethiopian population and assess the validity of reports linking running long distances to school with endurance success.


METHODS
Questionnaires, administered to 114 members (male and female) of the Ethiopian national athletics team and 111 Ethiopian control subjects (C) obtained information on place of birth, language, distance and method of travel to school. Athletes were separated into three groups according to athletic discipline: marathon (M; N = 34); 5,000-10,000 m (5-10 km; N = 42); and other track and field athletes (TF; N = 38). Frequency differences between groups were assessed using contingency chi-square tests.


RESULTS
Regional distributions of marathon athletes differed from controls (P < 0.001) and track and field athletes (P = 0.013), but not the 5- to 10-km athletes (P = 0.21). The 5- to 10-km athletes also differed from controls (P < 0.001). Marathon athletes exhibited excess from the regions of Arsi and Shewa (M: 73%; 5-10 km: 43%; TF: 29%; C: 15%). The language distribution of marathon athletes differed from all groups (P < 0.001), with a predominance of languages of Cushitic origin (M: 75%, 5-10 km: 52%, TF: 46%, C: 30%). A higher proportion of marathon athletes ran to school (M: 68%; 5-10 km: 31%; TF: 16%; C: 24%) and traveled greater distances.


CONCLUSIONS
Elite endurance athletes are of a distinct environmental background in terms of geographical distribution, ethnicity, and also having generally traveled farther to school, often by running. These findings may reflect both environmental and genetic influences on athletic success in Ethiopian endurance athletes.
Scott
Robert A
RA
Centre for Exercise Science and Medicine, Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK.
Georgiades
Evelina
E
Wilson
Richard H
RH
Goodwin
Will H
WH
Wolde
Bezabhe
B
Pitsiladis
Yannis P
YP
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003710:Demography; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D010807:Physical Endurance; D012420:Running / Q000145:classification