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Have you ever wondered why many Olympics sprint winners are Jamaicans? And why the world’s best marathon runners are from Kenya?
Do you want to know what sport you are ideally built for? The answer is in your genes.

Our physical and physiological makeup is determined by our genetics. Inherent capabilities and the
changes in them in response to training are both genetically influenced. No two individuals training the
same way for the same duration can expect to see the same exact results. All else being equal, in sports
and athletic performance, there are genetic factors that contribute favorably in various small ways and
add up to give a small edge that often makes the winning difference between elite performers.

Some interesting facts about genes and athletic performance:

+ Finnish skier Eero Mäntyranta became the “greatest endurance athlete” of his generation in part because of a mutation in his erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) gene which helps produce excessive amounts of red blood cells. His family was found to carry this gene.

+ The Kalenjin tribe of Kenya makes up about 12% of the African population. In 2011, 32 Kalenjin runners finished a marathon faster than 2 hours, 10 minutes, whereas only 17 Americans managed to do so historically.

+ The Indian Cricket Team, The National Basketball Association (NBA) and other professional sports teams around the world are beginning to incorporate genetics as part of their training regimen.

+ A study by Lancashire University showed that when the genotype matched with training, the likelihood of significant
improvement was 21 times more for power based activities and 28.5 times more for endurance based activities, when compared
with mismatched training.

+ Donald Thomas had barely 8 months of training when he won a gold at the Osaka World Championships in ’07 beating Stefan
Holm, despite Holm’s extensive training. Later on, scientists identified one of the key reasons for his dramatic success - a 10.5" uncharacteristically long Achilles tendon. The longer and stiffer the tendon, the more elastic energy it can store, and when stretched, rocket its owner into air.


Recent research has confirmed that our efficiency of performing various physical activities is dependent on a number of genes.
Inheritance of favorable genetic type provides an advantage in athletic and sports performance. Genes play a key role in influencing your
athletic ability, sports performance and physical fitness.

In this report we profile genes that have been shown to influence endurance performance, aerobic capacity, power/strength activity performance and several other attributes relevant to fitness.

We hope that this report will help you understand your body better and align your training with your genetic type to get the best
performance enhancement.