Guess you can't nurture foot speed

Just one white sprinter has broken the 10-second barrier in the 60 meters; France's Christophe Lemaitre. His analysis of the achievement:

"Of course, it was my goal to break it. One has to run under 10 seconds in order to be part of the world's best. I will be recognised as the first white man to do so, but today's achievement is mainly about making history for myself!...It is not about the color it is about hard work." 

Hard work...that old staple. I'm sure you've heard it too: you're having a late night conversation at the bar. The topic comes up (usually in a hushed voice): why don't all groups excel equally in sports?

Progressive "Nurture is Everything" Guy: The poor and disadvantaged excel in athletics because they don't have access to the other rungs of economic mobility.

Once or twice I've even seen a mote of sincerity in the eyes of these people. If they truly believe this, one can only conclude they are intellectually disadvantaged. Or blind.

I don't deny that economic status plays a factor. How many prep school kids take up serious boxing? How many trailer park residents become elite skiers? But economics alone don't come close to telling the whole (apparently uncomfortable) story.

Below is a list of the top 25 recorded times in the 100-meters. 10 countries are represented. Now Google Image these folks. Tell me if you notice they all have something in common; despite the number of different nations represented.

Spoiler alert: None of them resemble Rick Astley:

Rank	Time	Wind (m/s)	Athlete	Country	Date	Location
1	9.58 WR	+0.9	Usain Bolt	Jamaica	16 August 2009	Berlin
2	9.69	+2.0	Tyson Gay	United States	20 September 2009	Shanghai
		−0.1	Yohan Blake	Jamaica	23 August 2012	Lausanne
4	9.72	+0.2	Asafa Powell	Jamaica	2 September 2008	Lausanne
5	9.78	+0.9	Nesta Carter	Jamaica	29 August 2010	Rieti
6	9.79	+0.1	Maurice Greene	United States	16 June 1999	Athens
		+1.5	Justin Gatlin	United States	5 August 2012	London
8	9.80	+1.3	Steve Mullings	Jamaica	4 June 2011	Eugene
9	9.82	+1.7	Richard Thompson	Trinidad and Tobago	21 June 2014	Port of Spain
10	9.84	+0.7	Donovan Bailey	Canada	27 July 1996	Atlanta
		+0.2	Bruny Surin	Canada	22 August 1999	Seville
12	9.85	+1.2	Leroy Burrell	United States	6 July 1994	Lausanne
		+1.7	Olusoji Fasuba	Nigeria	12 May 2006	Ad-Dawhah
		+1.3	Mike Rodgers	United States	4 June 2011	Eugene
15	9.86	+1.2	Carl Lewis	United States	25 August 1991	Tokyo
		−0.7	Frankie Fredericks	Namibia	3 July 1996	Lausanne
		+1.8	Ato Boldon	Trinidad and Tobago	19 April 1998	Walnut
		+0.6	Francis Obikwelu	Portugal	22 August 2004	Athens
		+1.4	Keston Bledman	Trinidad and Tobago	23 June 2012	Port of Spain
20	9.87	+0.3	Linford Christie	United Kingdom	15 August 1993	Stuttgart
		−0.2	Obadele Thompson [A]	Barbados	11 September 1998	Johannesburg
22	9.88	+1.8	Shawn Crawford	United States	19 June 2004	Eugene
		+1.0	Walter Dix	United States	8 August 2010	Nottwil
		+0.9	Ryan Bailey	United States	29 August 2010	Rieti
		+1.0	Michael Frater	Jamaica	30 June 2011	.

Apart from Mr. Fredericks, everyone on this list is of predominantly West African descent. Mr. Lemaitre is the sole white man to break 10 seconds. No Asian sprinter has been recorded breaking 10 seconds.

If poverty is such a determinant factor, why don't we see any U.S. Hispanics on this list? There are estimates that perhaps 1/4 live in poverty. What about the poor South Asians who flock to the U.K.; why don't they become elite sprinters? Where are the poor Arabs from France? Why does just one "disadvantaged group" show up time and time again no matter the country? 

The disadvantaged group doing the elite sprinting is in a better position economically than they were in, say, 1974. So why haven't the demographics shifted a bit to reflect this? The last white sprinter to win Olympic gold in the 100 meters was Allan Wells in 1980. Last white sprinter to win the 200: Pietro Mennea, 1980. Yes, Jeremy Wariner won gold in 2004 in the 400, but did you have a look at the rest of the field? Which one of these things is not like the other? In 2012, the aforementioned Lemaitre was just the fifth white sprinter since '84 to make the 200 meter final.

China and India make up more than 1/3 of the world's population. Why hasn't a single sprinter from either country, poor or otherwise, broken 10 seconds? They aren't capable of the same "hard work" as Lemaitre? None of them have enough interest to pursue sprinting with the same dedication?

Given that Mr. Lemaitre studied industrial engineering, I find it hard to believe he can't calculate how unlikely that is.