Sickle cell trait in Ivory Coast athletic throw and jump champions, 1956-1995

In order to assess the performance of subjects with sickle cell trait (SCT) during brief and explosive exercise involving mainly alactic anaerobic metabolism, the percentage of athletes with SCT was determined in Ivory Coast track and field throw and jump champions, both men and women, for the period 1956-1995. Thirty-four (27.8%) sickle cell trait carriers (SCTC) were identified among the 122 national champions that we were able to contact. These 34 SCTC had won 78 national titles (24.5%) and established 37 national records (43.5%), distributed among the throw and jump events. These percentages were significantly higher than the prevalence of SCT in the general Ivory Coast population (12.0%). The women's high jump and men's shot put events had the highest percentages of SCTC record holders (90.9% and 87.5%, respectively). Moreover, the two top national record holders and title winners, one man and one woman, were SCTC athletes, and their hemoglobin S percentage (HbS: 39.1% and 39.4%, respectively) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) excluded an associated alpha-thalassemia. We conclude that the significantly higher percentage of SCTCs among Ivory Coast track and field champions, as compared to the percentage in the general population suggests that SCT may be a determinant factor for success in brief and explosive track and field events involving mainly alactic anaerobic metabolism.