Passage Two

The swelling ranks of successful Ethiopians( 埃塞俄比亚人) on the international athletic track and the media attention they are receiving has inspired thousands of youngsters to devote all their energy to becoming the future champions of distance running. Haile currently reigns(统治) supreme as the world’s greatest distance runner. He has set 15 world records and at 2000 year’s Sydney Olympics he retained the Olympic Gold medal he first won in 1996. He is the latest in a long line. The world woke up to this phenomenon in the 1960 Roma Olympics, when Ethiopian Abebe Bikila won the men’s marathon(马拉松) barefoot. Being born in the mountains means their bodies have already compensated for the lack of oxygen by having bigger hangs and more red blood cells. Not only do their bodies carry oxygen to the cells more efficiently; the cells make better use of that oxygen. Runners who weren’t born and raised in the highlands have tries training in the mountains but often struggle to reacclimatize--experiencing the adverse effects of altitude, such as vomiting and faintness, after retuning to sea level. Haile once said we ran because we loved the sensation of running--which was fortunate, as we also ran because we had no choice. It worked for Haile, who now earns close to $ 1 million a year, much of which he ploughs back into his country through various investments. Haile has become like a god here. The main road in the capital was renamed after him. He and his equipment sponsor set up the Global Adidas running club and team which enroll the young who are regarded as the most promising athletes of the next generation, the best of whom get a monthly allowance. The top runners in the yearly cross country competition are picked for the national team. Sports facilities are woefully inadequate here, but at least with running it is the least affected as it doesn’t require any equipment. So running has come to represent the triumph of strength and determination over the obvious material handicaps of third world poverty. For the youth of Ethiopia, the chance to follow in the footsteps of the hometown hero has come to stand for much, much more than national pride and a few gold medals. Athletics is now seen as a way of breaking out of the poverty trap.

Ethiopians could easily win distance running mainly because ______.