Washington Post article - Kenyan NCAA imports

Ours is a truly international sport, so we are fine with some level of NCAA spots going to international athletes. But there should be a limit. Say 20% of roster spots can go to foreign citizens, while 80% are reserved for American citizens.

Left wingers will hate this - they hate anything that prioritizes American citizens - but it would otherwise be broadly popular.

Friend of Rono's here. It's true he did not immediately excel at WSU but he was also struggling to adjust to an American college environment having never gone to high school and barely speaking English. He was selected for the Kenyan Olympic team in '76, prior to arriving in Pullman, but didn't get to run due the boycott. For what it's worth, Kip Keino, who coached that team, told me he thought Henry was in shape to win golds in both the 5000 and steeple.

If Greg Fredericks is considered an Olympian so is Henry Rono. Show me the difference. Rono got physically a lot closer to his Olympics than Greg did.

Look, if we are going to call a spade a spade, then let's call a spade a spade.

The analogous system in Japan's university ekiden allows for one leg only to be done by an international athlete. Seems a reasonable compromise.

You import Kenyans, then you import doping and are perfectly fine with it.

Rono was considered a contender for the 1976 Olympic 5k or 10k, had it not been for the African boycott.

Why do you feel that way. I know that I would never want to go to any college that recruits Kenyans. I have nothing against Kenyans at all. It's those schools that I don't like. What's the problem with them? Nothing. You get knocked down a few notches. That just makes you better, don't you think?

I was the last All America the first year that the NCAA installed the back-door AA rule. I was 39th. That means 13 ferners displaced me. There were a few Kenyans. Cool. The problem was those fookin Irishmen. The bad breath and hygiene. The drunken physicality at bars. The random chest butting, fights and resolutions with bear hugs. I remember the first time I observed them in their natural state. I thought to myself, "Oh my God, these are my people?"

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" -- "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

That's what I vaguely remember the talk being going into the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

For statistical reference (per Rono's profile on WA website), Henry emerged onto the world scene in 1975 with a 13:37.0h/5000 & 8:34.4h/Steeple. In 1976, he set new prs of 13:30.8h/5000 & 8:29.0h/Steeple.

At the time, the 5000 WR WA was 13:13.0h set in 1972, finally lowered to 13:12.87 in 1977. The Steeplechase WR was 8:09.70 set in 1975, lowered to 8:08.02 in 1976.

Based upon these numbers alone, Rono's 13:30 -- set in Montreal a couple weeks before the Olympics -- would certainly bear out Keino's & others' beliefs that Henry would have been a medal contender in that event.

Seeing how Rono burst on to the NCAA scene in fall 1976 with his 28:06 XC win -- 10 seconds ahead of teammate Samson Kimobwa who was 10 seconds ahead of Craig Virgin -- this result certainly bolsters the case for Henry being one of the world's best distance runners prior to enrolling at WSU. That 28:06 is still the fastest 10,000 xc race ever run. I recall Virgin stating afterwards, " I didn't think a cross country race could be run that fast." And Craig has just run 27:59 to make the US 10,000 team 5 months prior.

Injuries in the early months of 1977 somewhat derailed Rono's 1977 NCAA track season as he only finished 2nd in the Steeplechase w/8:31, over 1.5 seconds behind the winner. Do not recall if he ran the 5 or 10 but if so, did not finish in the top-10.

Then came 1978, when I was fortunate enough to be in the stands at Cal-Berkeley on that April day when Rono ran 13:08, the first of his 4 WRs that spring/summer.

Damn unfortunate Kenya boycotted both the 1976 & 1980 Olympics, causing Henry to eventually disappear into a whisky bottle.

I understand wanting to make restrictions around citizenship, but why only citizens by birth? You're telling me if a kid moves here with his parents at 5 years old and then becomes a citizen at 15, that kid shouldn't be eligible for scholarships?

I gave you the facts already. I laid it out nice and neatly for you.. Rono DID NOT emerge on the world scene until the last weeks of the Summer of 1977.

His times in 1976 were far behind what would be considered world class.

I gave you the Brinkster links that clearly shows what I said is true. Ignoring the facts for "alternate facts" is just willful ignorance. Repeating yourself with your eyes wide shut just weakens any point you're trying to make.

Go to the Brinkster link and open your eyes.

A little tough for an 18yr old American to compete for a spot w a much older already developed international pro

That is always the counter point and it's a good one. Look at a team like Alabama or even MTSU, they don't even pretend to look at local talent, it's all East African, the "coach" is basically a van driver.

That being said, had they recruited US talent and not won the conference, would the AD care that they developed some "really good runners", just not GREAT runners? I think the answer is no.

I am all for foreign athletes, but I do think there should be a limit.

Not to belabor the point, but I'm looking at track and field news from 1976 and Rono's name comes up exactly zero times.

For the entire year of 1976 he had the 34th fastest time in the steeplechase 8:29.0. and 40th fastest time in the 5000m.

Rono didn't come on the World scene until August 1977.

...but ...but ...but

You know what you don't get out of East African runners? Complaining, b!tchin, and melodrama.. tell 1 US athlete that their diet sucks, their too heavy, they aren't working hard enough and they aren't living up the their scholarship money, and they report you to the AD.

Though history doesn't state when exactly Kenyan recruiting began, John Chaplin/Washington State University is generally acknowledged as the "pioneer" of Kenyan distance recruiting to US universities.

Prior to him, most international distance recruits were from England & Ireland, headlined by 1972 NCAA xc champ Neil Cusack/Eastern Tennessee State then 1974 xc champ Nick Rose/Western Kentucky. If fact, WSU considers Rose the leader of a "British invasion" of distance runners recruited in the early 70s by Englishman head coach Alan Launder.

Chaplin became head xc coach in 1968 then head t&f coach in 1974. WSU was very good in the late-60s/early-70s due to one Gerry Lindgren and his continuing influence. WSU had no Kenyans on the team in those days, at least none that appear in NCAA results.

That changed in 1972 when John Ngeno arrived. His effect was immediate, finishing 43rd at that fall's NCAA xc championships as WSUs #2 man. His first NCAA championship was the 6-mile in 1974, going on to win many others.

Ngeno was the first in a long line of Chaplin Kenyan recruits, soon followed by Josh Kimeto & Samson Kimobwa in 1975 then Henry Rono in 1976.

So, when one thinks of all-time Kenyan recruits to US universities, Henry Rono usually is the first to come to mind due to his overwhelming successes on the world stage while still in school. Henry was certainly in the vanguard -- likely the one to be considered as having opened up the floodgates -- but John Ngeno appears to have the distinction of being the first.

Which leads one to wonder: there was no Scholarbook or other recruiting agencies back then, at least none I ever read about in T&F News which was about the only source of t&f info at the time. So, how did Chaplin -- then Ted Banks/UTEP -- get all these guys over from Kenya? Did they literally go on safari recruiting trips to Eldoret & Iten? What connections did Chaplin have in Kenya?

Suspect that a direct line can be drawn from what is happening today to whatever Chaplin's Kenyan recruiting methods were over 50 years ago.

Are these athletes exceptional? Yes.

But it does force the US kids to get better. The days of old are gone.

You probably can’t be a 60 miles a week, skinny kid that finds running at 15 and does pretty good. If you are an American high schooler it is time to train, to REALLY train. Take the sport seriously, get on the details and get fast.

The rules aren’t changing so get out there and earn that spot

i up vote malmo

letsrun is utterly stupid here