He was born in New York in 1951 and was ranked number seven in the 800 in the US by T&FN in 1971, ninth in 1972.
He was born in New York in 1951 and was ranked number seven in the 800 in the US by T&FN in 1971, ninth in 1972.
Dumb ass wrote:
He was born in New York in 1951 and was ranked number seven in the 800 in the US by T&FN in 1971, ninth in 1972.
Ninth ranked in US; 2nd ranked in France.....you figure it out.
Ummm, possibly because French representation was available to him and there were at least three Americans ahead of him? The 1972 USOT 800 was stacked, to say the least.
In fact, IIRC he was accepted to represent France in 1972 but declined, reasoning (probably accurately) that someone else would get screwed if he competed in Munich.
Does this help to answer your question?
http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1976/ATH/mens-800-metres.html
Uhm, because his name was Marcel?
Once you pass the frenchie sounding name test, you're pretty much in.
Stating the obvious wrote:
Uhm, because his name was Marcel?
Once you pass the frenchie sounding name test, you're pretty much in.
That's the answer I was looking for. It is the same reasoning, more or less, as the argument that Leo Manzano is a Mexican. (Hey, it's great to see that someone else on here has a sense of humor.)
He had some kind of French family connection. Can't recall exactly what it was.
G Hosphat wrote:
He had some kind of French family connection. Can't recall exactly what it was.
Um, did you look at his NAME?
Yeah, I looked at his NAME. But if he was four generations removed from France, that would not be good enough for him to be on their Olympic team. It was something far more immediate than that.
Marcel's parents were both born in France allowing him to pick up his French citizenship once it became clear he would not qualify on the American squad for the Olympics.
RIP: D3 All-American Frank Csorba - who ran 13:56 in March - dead
RENATO can you talk about the preparation of Emile Cairess 2:06
Running for Bowerman Track Club used to be cool now its embarrassing
Hats off to my dad. He just ran a 1:42 Half Marathon and turns 75 in 2 months!
Great interview with Steve Cram - says Jakob has no chance of WRs this year
Rest in Peace Adrian Lehmann - 2:11 Swiss marathoner. Dies of heart attack.