heartland wrote:
Lagat, Rono, Chalanga, Tergat,..they are all the same: Kenyan athletes. Not american born athltetes. How can you compare Kennedy and Lagat? Lagat is a Kenyan athlete who knew his days were numbered as a top Kenyan and switched citizenship to make more money, and lengthen his career. But he is not an American. To qualify for this "American" status one should have to go through the US high school system. Then they can qualify for an American record. We are no bette than Bahrain when we let aging runners from other coutries become US citizens hoping for a boost to our US team. De Reuck, Hellybuck, Kannouchi and Lagat all fall into that catagoy. Why not buy more Kenyans, Moracans and Ethiopians and just scap the US born runners?
First of all I think you're wrong about having to be born here to qualify, but I'm just commenting on you saying that Lagat would not be a top Kenyan when at the last major international race he was the favorite heading in until he got injured. I believe he can still run sub 3:30 (probably 3:28 to 3:29 but I'll say 3:30), and last time I checked he would still be considered a top Kenyan because he would still be one of the favorites in any 1500 in the world.