douchelin^3 wrote:
Jeffy wrote:And the second place is a sophomore in college, right? So he is technically a year older than the UTEP overage freshman (previous World Best time holder) and he broke the previous mark as well? So how old is this kid? Is he above the scrutiny when the age and performance are compared? Many people here on let's run said that there was no way a freshman can break the world record because of his age and it is a scam but no one is saying a thing about a sophomore that he is supposed to be a year older?
This. So much this.
As long as he was born and raised in the United States of America, he should have a legitimate, verified birth certificate. That birth certificate places him above scrunity.
The aforementioned Kenyan from UTEP is a fantastic runner and his time is spectacular, regardless of age. But Kenya does not have the same infrastructure that the U.S. does and many times they fabricate birth certificates in order to gain opportunity. This is why people think Kenyans look older/more mature at a younger age than Americans, when in actuality, that 18 year old is at the very least 23-24, possibly older.
I do not blame any Kenyan for forging a birth certificate to obtain an opportunity, but many of the scholastic Kenyans that you see are much older than they claim to be.
So to summarize my answer to your question: Isaiah Harris is above age scrunity because his country has a detailed/accurate system of record keeping and there is a strong precedent for age cheating in Kenya.