Kenya is known around the world as a home to athletic champions. In most athletics especially long distance races, Kenyans exhibit prominent dominance in both men and women races.
However, one community in Kenya stands out for its members’ contribution to the Kenyan status in the world of athletics: the Kalenjins.
In 2013 Berlin Marathon, Wilson Kipsang set the record for the fastest marathon ever by clocking 2hrs 3 minutes and 23 seconds. The other positions up to position five were taken by Kenyans. In the same marathon women side, women took the first, second and fourth positions.
Later the same year in Chicago Dennis Kimetto broke a record with three other Kenyans behind him. Many of the runners were of Kalenjin community. The feats were just baffling to the world.
This has been the trait in major world races with Kenyans proving their prowess and asserting their dominance in the sports. A considerable number of the world records in races are held by Kenyans with too familiar names.
David Epstein a renown sports editor who authored a book called 'The Sports Gene' went behind the scenes and noted that most runners in Kenya come from the tribe of Kalenjins. In his book, he explores possible genetic factors that might be the reason behind the Kalenjins racing prowess.
He notes that Kalenjins have thin ankles and calves which makes their legs resemble a pendulum and eases their movement. He points out this as a feature shared by all Nilotic tribes living around the equator.
According to his explanation of this feature, the more weight you have farther away from your centre of gravity, the more difficult it is to swing. The vice versa applies to Kalenjins.
Some studies have also discovered that like Kalenjins and Kenyans, in general, have less mass for their height, longer legs, shorter torsos and more slender limbs. These physical traits can be viewed as relatively 'streamlined' and improve efficiency while running.
Lastly, there is a controversial cultural argument that Kalenjins become great runners because they run several miles to and from the school barefoot on daily basis. Running barefoot is considered to develop good racing habits they say.