Atsedu Tsegay 58:47 at Praha Half marathon!!

Raptured wrote:

David Monti (on his link). wrote:

Living in Addis Ababa and only running three years, Tsegay reminded reporters that his modest 13:51.0 5000m personal best was set in Ethiopia's thin air, and that his career was just beginning.

Umm... yeah right.

Which part don't you believe?

he is another obvious doper coming out of nowhere (having been recruited by some western coach and trained "properly")

ggg wrote:

he is another obvious doper coming out of nowhere (having been recruited by some western coach and trained "properly")

They would say the same thing about Hall ("came out of nowhere to run 59:43!"), Webb ("came out of nowhere to run 3:53!") or Wheating ("came out of nowhere to run 3:30.90!").

Raptured wrote:

David Monti (on his link). wrote:

Living in Addis Ababa and only running three years, Tsegay reminded reporters that his modest 13:51.0 5000m personal best was set in Ethiopia's thin air, and that his career was just beginning.

Umm... yeah right.

Show me his results from prior to 2010. This isn't hard to believe. You have guys like Bekana Daba who were soccer players, then were encouraged to try out for a track club, and six months later run 13:06.

Wheating started running in 2006 and two years later he was on the US Olympic team. How about that?

Truth Sayer wrote:

Yawn. East African runs fast time. Tell me if you haven't heard this story before.

Whereas hereabouts people seem more interested in boring stories along the lines of "American fails to run fast time."

Jeff Wigand wrote:

ggg wrote:

he is another obvious doper coming out of nowhere (having been recruited by some western coach and trained "properly")

They would say the same thing about Hall ("came out of nowhere to run 59:43!"), Webb ("came out of nowhere to run 3:53!") or Wheating ("came out of nowhere to run 3:30.90!").

And all three of those Americans are dopers.

Koneko wrote:

Jeff Wigand wrote:

They would say the same thing about Hall ("came out of nowhere to run 59:43!"), Webb ("came out of nowhere to run 3:53!") or Wheating ("came out of nowhere to run 3:30.90!").

And all three of those Americans are dopers.

Of course: Hall's evangelism is really all an act. He and Sara are really nihilistic atheists that have happy to defraud the public and their competitors of hundreds of thousands of dollars to funnel into their "STEPS" foundation, which isn't really a Christian charity, but in fact is a front for La eMe. Ryan and Sara moved to Redding not to be closer to Bethel Church, but because it allowed them sufficient space to process and assist in the distribution of narcotics for La eMe.

But you already knew that.

Yeah hes 20 years old...please.... Looks like hes pushing 30.

Look - I am glad they are escaping poverty and finding better lives for themselves through running. I am glad they can go back home and buy a farm and live happily ever after. Great.

BUT - from the sponsorship standpoint I don't get the appeal of East African runners at this stage...maybe back when records were being demolished but now there are plenty of guys running 58s, 59s for half marathons. The public is having a hard time segregating who's who. None of these guys have any personality and can barely speak english - save a few. AMERICAN Public can't relate.

Whereas you get one white guy with blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, and attractive running 59:43 and he can be a cash cow for sponsors well after he his past his prime.

Imagine how fast this guy would be if he doped.

Truth Sayer wrote:

Look - I am glad they are escaping poverty and finding better lives for themselves through running. I am glad they can go back home and buy a farm and live happily ever after. Great.

BUT - from the sponsorship standpoint I don't get the appeal of East African runners at this stage...maybe back when records were being demolished but now there are plenty of guys running 58s, 59s for half marathons. The public is having a hard time segregating who's who. None of these guys have any personality and can barely speak english - save a few. AMERICAN Public can't relate.

Whereas you get one white guy with blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, and attractive running 59:43 and he can be a cash cow for sponsors well after he his past his prime.

A cash cow? How much money do American distance runners make for sponsors?

Also, if you REALLY know who Ryan Hall is then you will know who the top Africans are. How many Americans really know of more than 1 or 2 American distance runners?

Lastly, perhaps the sponsors are serving a WORLD market and not just a US market? Running barely gets any public exposure in the US as compared to Europe and Africa.

Truth Sayer wrote:

None of these guys have any personality and can barely speak english - save a few.

None of them can barely speak english?

Truth Sayer wrote:

None of these guys have any personality and can barely speak english - save a few. AMERICAN Public can't relate.

.

None of these guys HAS any personality...

You don't even know how to write your own language and you're picking on foreigners? Dope!

Truth Sayer wrote:

Whereas you get one white guy with blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, and attractive running 59:43 and he can be a cash cow for sponsors well after he his past his prime.

Hang on a minute, I thought that race had nothing to do with this? Or are you suggesting that Ryan Hall wouldn't be as marketable or as popular if he looked like Khadevis Robinson?

And most don't have a name that native English speakers can pronounce.

Repeat after me "Atsedu Tsegay" ...

As for marketability, Ryan Hall would be far more marketable without all of the "God stuff" and if he didn't sound like a stoner.

If Khadevis were as fast as Hall in the marathon, he would be a marketing sensation - he has sizzle and his story would sell.

Basically American distance runners are nerds and geeks, aside from a few. Skinny white guys with no personality. "One time at running camp ..." If Cabada could pop a big PR or big win, he would have some marketing sizzle.

Distance running needs something to get it on the cover or 5 min on ESPN ... like a girl fight on the track, involving someone's bunhuggers being around around her ankles. Or some sordid scandal involving one of those nasty vault girls and a couple of male distance runners.

Repeat after me, "Touraj Houshmandzadeh, Touraj Houshmandzadeh..."

But let's get passed this silliness. Houshmandzadeh is certainly better known than Ryan Hall, despite having a name most uneducated anglophones would struggle to pronounce correctly. But, Houshmandzadeh is American born and raised.

How about Ichiro Suzuki? A non-English speaker with a name that will certainly sound foreign to a lot of Americans was on the cover of Sports illustrated. Because he was playing exceptionally well for a US based team in one of America's most popular sports. It didn't matter that he needed a translator to answer every question of his interview in Sports Illustrated.

If Atsedu Tsegay were batting .370 for the Yankees, who the hell would care what language he could or couldn't speak? Would he be more or less well known than Ryan Hall?

The biggest thing these guys have going against them is that they're in a sport that shines its brightest for eight days once every four years. It would be great if Atsedu Tsegay spoke English like Liev Schreiber, or even like Haile. And if his manager can, he'll push him in that direction.

But there's nothing you can do about more East Africans dominating the distance events. For every Ryan Hall, there are fifty Atsedu Tsegays.

Jeff Wigand wrote:

If Atsedu Tsegay were batting .370 for the Yankees, who the hell would care what language he could or couldn't speak? Would he be more or less well known than Ryan Hall?

pssshhhh, can't hit a curveball and arm is only marginally better than Damon's.

They should just make a white's only race. Not even kidding. No one cares or wants to see a bunch of random foreigners who all look alike winning all the race sand stealing all the money.

P.C NOT gone mad! wrote:

They should just make a white's only race. Not even kidding. No one cares or wants to see a bunch of random foreigners who all look alike winning all the race sand stealing all the money.

David Krummenacker and Steve Holman not American enough for you? Who wants to see a race between a bunch of white people that all look alike? How about an all-white basketball league?