Question

Athletes A, B, and C are selected in a team for athletics and weightlifting. Athlete A and C have more white muscle fibres while B is blessed with high red muscle fibres. Which sport event should they go for in order to increase their chances of winning the events?

• A. A- Sprinting, B- Marathon, C- Weightlifting
• B. A- Marathon, B- Sprinting, C- Weightlifting
• C. A- Marathon, C- Sprinting, B- Weightlifting
• D. A- Sprinting, C- Sprinting, B- Marathon

Answer 1

The correct option is A A- Sprinting, B- Marathon, C- Weightlifting

Some muscles have a very less amount of the oxygen containing pigment called myoglobin. Such muscles are called white muscles because of the pale or whitish appearance. They also contain less numbers of mitochondria. They depend mostly upon anaerobic respiration for energy. These muscles are involved in short duration, fast paced work, e.g. eyeball muscles, sprinting (fast short duration running) muscles.
Red muscle fibres are those muscles which have high concentrations of myoglobin. These also have high mitochondrial numbers which help in aerobic respiration. These muscle fibres are slow paced and are meant for sustained periods of work, e.g. marathon running.