Correspondence to

Early life mammalian biology and later life physical performance: maximising physiological adaptation Andres E Carrillo,1 Yiannis Koutedakis,2,3 Andreas D Flouris1,4 The malleability of mammalian biology during early life, which carries considerable weight throughout the course of the lifespan, may contribute to the creation of a human phenotype ideal for prime physical performance. In this article, the authors consider the East African cohort of exceptional athletes that dominate marathon performance. Since entering international marathon competition in 1960, East Africans have competed at the front of the pack and now hold the top 10 men’s marathon times. The authors present lines of evidence supporting that exposure t