The sport is popular in Europe, but nowhere near as popular as it used to
be. Soccer has had a lot to do with it. The sport, always very popular
there, erupted to new heights in the mid-80's, and track hasn't recovered
- this is one reason we don't see near as many fast Europeans in the
sprints, middle and long distance events. In GB, the numbers of kids
actively participating in the National Cross Country Champs is 10% of
what it was 20 years ago! This is why you aren't seeing any more Crams,
Ovetts, Coes, Elliots etc. from there. It's similar all over Europe. This (not
to mention politically condoned drug use by Africans) is why you see a lot
of E. Africans toeing the line for races from 800 meters on up over there.
Someone did point out something interesting about the Oly Games - I'll
relay it here briefly: for all the talk about black superiority on the track,
the blacks didn't dominate the 2004 games at all. A guy broke down the
winners by racial classification, and the results were interesting - here are
some in brief:
100 meters: Negro
200 meters: Negro
400 meters: Caucasian
800 meters: Caucasian
1500 meters: Caucasian
Steeplechase: Negro
5000 meters: Caucasian
10000 meters: Negro
Marathon: Caucasian
High Jump: Caucasian
Triple Jump: Caucasian
Long Jump: Negro
Shot Put: Caucasian
Javelin: Caucasian
Hammer throw: Asian
Decathlon: Caucasian
110 Hurdles: Asian
400 Hurdles: Negro
Pole Vault: Caucasian