TEG - 1st 5K guy not born in Africa!

If he had BP'd, he woulda won.

bridgingthegap wrote:

Congrats! 1st white guy and first person not born in Africa! Way to go Teg!

This is exactly the type of thinking that is holding back white people. His performance was solid but definitely not worthy of congratulations. He was 8th, last WC he was 4th. The race was set up perfectly for him to use his speed (like US trials) to earn a medal spot. Further, someone has to be the first white person, but he was not the first American nor the first person raised in the first world (without the lifestyle "advantages" enjoyed by East Africans).

Some of the Africans enjoy 1st world drugs and get away with it.

yeah cool wrote:

If he had BP'd, he woulda won.

Just to make sure, you are kidding, right?

It's not about "lifestyle" advantages, it's about the hardwired "genetic" advantages. There will ALWAYS be a first white guy, and we need to congratulate him on achieving 100% of his genetic potential!

A white guy can no more win an international distance race than an illegal landscaper can hope to contribute to string theory.

Dude, be realistic. If you look at all of the results in running events at this meet, not just distance, you will see that Africans or runners of African descent are just superior. How many medals did white people win in running events at thie meet? Given that fact, runners like Teg and Symmonds did pretty well and deserve a heartfelt congratulations. Instead of opting for sports they are better suited to, like the triathlon, golf and surfing, they chose to mix it up with the big boys and see what they could do against better runners, and they did pretty well. So take your hat off to them for goodness sake, and stop pretending like they were ever serious threats in those races!

If you look at most d1 lax teams, you'll find that they are dominated by upper middle class white kids. Does that mean that upper middle class white kids have a genetic advantage when it comes to lacrosse?

And, yes, who knows what the illegal landscaper would be capable of given the proper opportunities and education.

I don't know about all that but I do know that instead of playing D1 lacrosse my boy Symmonds chose to mix it up with the big boys in Berlin, so show him some love. Symmonds got much heart, even if he don't got a medal.

[quote]Isaac Newton wrote:

It's not about "lifestyle" advantages, it's about the hardwired "genetic" advantages. There will ALWAYS be a first white guy, and we need to congratulate him on achieving 100% of his genetic potential!

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Moorcroft ran 13 flat nearly 30 years ago. He was a part time runner! EA's have the advantage of 'white' people running slower or no faster than they were 30 years ago instad of making natual progression

They also have the advantage of training full time at altitude whilst we are playing at it while trying to study at the same time - and not training enough at altitude

Even if a gap remained it would be a lot narrower

Isaac Newton wrote:

There will ALWAYS be a first white guy, and we need to congratulate him on achieving 100% of his genetic potential!

13:20 is his maximum potential

Isaac Newton wrote:

It\'s not about \"lifestyle\" advantages, it\'s about the hardwired \"genetic\" advantages. There will ALWAYS be a first white guy, and we need to congratulate him on achieving 100% of his genetic potential!

A white guy can no more win an international distance race than an illegal landscaper can hope to contribute to string theory.

This type of thinking is unbelievably closed-minded! To say that the Africans win because they are genetically superior is an insult, considering the dedication, hard work and coaching required to succeed at the international level.

If you think that every African that picks up running is successful, you not paying attention. Only the select few will make it. The difference is that every child in Kenya wants to be the next Paul Tergat, and trains accordingly.

In this country we are more focused on the \"big three\", football, basketball and baseball. As a result, we are \"world class\" at these events. Kids here are practing their jump shots from an early age. It\'s not genetics.

Americans athletes and fans need to focus on winning races rather than making excuses. The Americans athletes deserve credit for a number of commendable performances at the highest level this year. Hopefully this success can be a pattern for the future, perhaps with some medals down the road.

Success doesn\'t happen overnight, regardless of the sport.

This is just becoming, as always, a nature vs. nurture debate. Sorry guys. It will never be accurately answered.

Yes, it does APPEAR that certain areas have more genetic or mental capabilities. But, if the education and economic system were the same in Kenya as here they would have more scientists, etc. If the US cared about track like they do in Kenya we would be competing and possibly dominating the World due to our numbers and economic advantages.

At the same time, there are OBVIOUSLY genetic differences among races and locales that do make a person more prepared to compete in certain sporting events or scholastic pursuits.

So, It is not nature vs. nurture. It is Nature working with nurture. You need both in order to succeed on a world championships level.

It's 1984. British athletes hold the world record in the 800m, 1,000m, 1,500m, 1mile, 5,000m and the marathon.

Some dude lines up in a distance race against a bunch of Brits. "Dang! I'll never beat those guys they are so good at distance running!"

....

nothing lasts forever...

Well, they don't give out medals for being the first white guy...

Congrats to Teg for finishing 8th. Only one person can win. Only three people can medal. Coming short of that is not a failure.

But they do give prize money for being the first white guy at US road races. Maybe the IAAF should consider doing the same.

Rewind wrote:

It's 1984. British athletes hold the world record in the 800m, 1,000m, 1,500m, 1mile, 5,000m and the marathon.

Some dude lines up in a distance race against a bunch of Brits. "Dang! I'll never beat those guys they are so good at distance running!"

....

nothing lasts forever...

Exactly. Distance running in america is definitely ON THE rise, but that shouldn't be confused with us being already at the top of our game. Now that we have had pretty big names like Lagat (even though he is kenyan born, he is still american), Teg, Symmonds, and the rest, people are motivated to start competing again. This will hopefully lead to more clubs being started for younger kids interested in distance running, and coaching being taken more seriously by schools all over the nation. I think we DO have the talent to start competing with them, but we need to have people willing to take up distance running full time from a young age, just like they do. How many teenagers are frowned upon for having the initiative and drive to run 100 miles a week...MANY. How many do you think are frowned upon in kenya?? FEW. Sure, many will burn out, but a few will survive it and be stronger than anything we have produced before. Don't think that all kenyans who run like that survive it because of "genetic superiority", only the strong survive there too.

Teg got seeeeerved. He has no real kick he was dropped by almost 4 seconds in the last 200 by a tired Lagat. All of you who've been talking up his kick for months need to watch the race footage 10 times tonight as punishment.

Teg should watch the tape 20 times as punishment for talking trash all year about his great kick. Let the reality sink in deep.

Yeah! What a moron that Teg is for having confidence in himself and his training. This'll really show him! He needs to take that bull back to the 10K.

Dude, don't fool yourself. Those Brits had the records before Africans had any real interest in running. The only way anybody challenges the Africans in distance running now is if they cultivate their local African talent. In the US, that means finding all the Somalian and Ethiopian immigrants in places like Minnesota (like that Futsum freshman kid who just finished top 10 in Footlocker), and same thing in England - scour the muslim neighborhoods of Birmingham and London looking for Somali studs. The Rupps, Webbs, Tegs, will be good for 8th through last in finals, and I'm saying that is pretty good for them, so give them their props.