How can they still do it ?

Who says our ancestors wouldn't mop the floor with us? 😄 remember our world has grown soft compared to then.

There lives were spent in exersise Roman armies constatntly worked out... 40 year old generals were expected to keep up with new recruits and men were beaten to death if they did not meet requirements.

Spartans practiced elimination of the weak and basically genetic cleasing in thier day... new borns were left alone in the woods for 7 days and if they did not survive then so be it.

I say the feats we awe at today have probably been done already but just not recorded. Of course not all of them but the basic swimming and running and others similar.

well the olympic requirements involve waaay more then pure brute strengt. They have to train their muscles and coordonation in a specific way. And that is what they do..so they have all the time to practice..

yeah, a muscle bound body is nothing compared to a well conditioned body. Athletes from way back then compared to athletes now, would be slaughtered in modern day competition. the understanding of science and how the human body works and why it does, is our greatest advantage, over way back when athletes, we know now what excercises need to be done to best train a certain musle area. Training is by far more rigerous, and advanced than ever before, which always plays a big role in the developing olympics. Science in genreal i guess you caould say.

I was watching the long-distance runners qualifying yesterday and realised that the Ethiopians have sewn up long-distance running for a long time now.

Maybe it is because they have evolved from great runners in their distant past in Ethiopia that now makes them so far ahead of everybody else.

That would suggest that greatness in physical performace might be specific to where you have lived for hundreds or thousands of years.

well runners who live in high elevation lands are always going to be the best runners, for these people, elevation is a big factor.

i wish i could break some records....