Khalid Khannouchi: Legitimate Reason for not even attempting to compete for the U.S. in the WC Helsinki Marathon?

Nobby said it well and I feel everyone is missing one CRITICAL point.

You look on his website or in any interview he has ever done and he CONSTANTLY speaks in these earnest tones about how much he wants to run for the U.S.A. and compete for his country.

Of course he can run wherever he wants. That is not the point.

The point is, there are Olympic and World Championship marathons. He has expressed a deep interest in helping his country's distance future and yet, FOR NO APPARENT REASON, he FORGOES the GOLDEN opportunity to run in these championships. That is HYPOCRISY.

Why?

USA fan wrote:

Also there are a ton of other Americans who routinely deny going to World Cross champs (as another poster notes) but they hardly get any grief.

World X-C Champs are NOT the Olympics.

ok then someone crap on Meb and Culpepper for not doing the marathon champs.

also the world cross champs are about as close to the olympics as you can get since you get 5k,10k and marathon guys all in one race. yes it's not as big a deal but it's pretty damn close and another great opportunity to represent your country.

MY beef is that he made such a big deal about how he wanted to be a US citizen, loved the country and wanted to represent this country. Yet he never has run a marathon for the USA. Has there ever been any other "American" marathoner of his stature who has dodged representing his country ever single time? In retrospect, the whole "I Love the USA" thing was just a PR scam so that, as an American, he could get a bigger shoe contract.

Yeah dumbass, crap on Meb's Silver. And doubt Pep's committment as well. See, the diff is that Meb & Pep walk the walk, all without talking the talk. Exact opposite of KK.

Latimer,

Please don\'t act like slapping a USA uniform on Khalid and sending him to some b rate event like Chiba is the same thing as representing our country.

I am sure KK isn't the only one that won't be there for the US in Helsinki. But it's true he should have kept his mouth shut. Don't know what he was thinking there.

hounddogharrier wrote:

MY beef is that he made such a big deal about how he wanted to be a US citizen, loved the country and wanted to represent this country. Yet he never has run a marathon for the USA.

You stupid shit, KK ran in the 1999 WC's Marathon in A UNITED STATES UNIFORM.

Get your facts straight before debating the issue, ok?

Edit: Make that 2001, not 1999. Yes, I see the irony.

You stupid shit, KK ran in the 1999 WC's Marathon in A UNITED STATES UNIFORM.

Get your facts straight before debating the issue, ok?

Well, actually it was 2001 in Edmonton, and he dropped out of the race. But I agree with your main point--Khannouchi has already run in the World Championships for the USA.

hounddogharrier wrote:

MY beef is that he made such a big deal about how he wanted to be a US citizen, loved the country and wanted to represent this country. Yet he never has run a marathon for the USA. Has there ever been any other "American" marathoner of his stature who has dodged representing his country ever single time?

Exactly. I agree 100%

Cat Fancy wrote:

Edit: Make that 2001, not 1999. Yes, I see the irony.

Thanks for the laugh.

I like how you corrected me after I had already corrected myself. You, my friend, are really on the ball.

I'm waiting for someone about 20 posts after this to mention my typo as well!

Cat Fancy wrote:

Edit: Make that 2001, not 1999. Yes, I see the irony.

And he DROPPED OUT because--THIS IS NO JOKE--the pace was "too slow." He also had some "blisters."

Dan Browne CRAWLED INTO THE STADIUM on his damn KNEES collapsing to a 2:27. Culpepper and Meb also braved the 100+ temps.

As for blisters, Gebrselassie did 50 laps in SPIKES on the Atlanta surface that had a shock absorption rating of 35.6 (allowable maximum of 36) and TORE THE SHREDS off his feet.

Give me a break. IF the pace is too slow, pick it up. I would like to think he is a good guy but the evidence simply will not support it.

Elden Campbell wrote:

hounddogharrier wrote:

MY beef is that he made such a big deal about how he wanted to be a US citizen, loved the country and wanted to represent this country. Yet he never has run a marathon for the USA. Has there ever been any other "American" marathoner of his stature who has dodged representing his country ever single time?

Exactly. I agree 100%

Funny that you still agree "100%" when it has already been stated above that Khannouchi ran for the U.S. in the World Championship marathon in 2001. (You can verify this fact by, for example, checking Khannouchi's bio at the usatf site.) It is amazing how some people can get so worked up and angry without even bothering to check the facts to see whether the supposed fact that angers them is even true.

Elden Campbell wrote:

Dan Browne CRAWLED INTO THE STADIUM on his damn KNEES collapsing to a 2:27.

Good thing you didn't exagerate the facts.

How interesting that now--just minutes after denying that he even ran in the race--you are apparently the expert on his dnf. I agree, though, that his comments about the pace being "too slow" were bizarre and seemed like a poor excuse.A couple of other points: Dan Browne obviously did not literally crawl into the stadium. Don't be ridiculous. If you are trying to find a standard by which to measure Khannouchi, at least make it a real one.Finally, the last time I checked, the 10,000 was 25 laps of a 400m track, not 50.

Elden Campbell wrote:

Cat Fancy wrote:

Edit: Make that 2001, not 1999. Yes, I see the irony.

And he DROPPED OUT because--THIS IS NO JOKE--the pace was "too slow." He also had some "blisters."

Dan Browne CRAWLED INTO THE STADIUM on his damn KNEES collapsing to a 2:27. Culpepper and Meb also braved the 100+ temps.

As for blisters, Gebrselassie did 50 laps in SPIKES on the Atlanta surface that had a shock absorption rating of 35.6 (allowable maximum of 36) and TORE THE SHREDS off his feet.

Give me a break. IF the pace is too slow, pick it up. I would like to think he is a good guy but the evidence simply will not support it.

I wasn't aware a reaction is a 'right.'

Khalid made several public appeals for support, which he requested in the form of letters to Rep. Sue Kelly, Sen. Charles Schumer and Chairman Lamar Smith. He made those appeals based on "how important it is for me to run for the United States".

I would say that those fans who supported him in his application, based on those statements (support sufficient to allow his application to leapfrog ~ 1 million others) do have a right to feel let down by his subsequent actions, even if those actions are understandable from a professional and athletic standpoint.

It's a simple human interaction. If you ask me to do something for you, and promise certain things in return, I have a right to feel aggrieved if you do not fulfill that promise. Do you believe that those fans and supporters would have written their letters if intead Khalid had said "how important it is for me to make a pot of money"?

scotth wrote:

Jamey Carville wrote:

Well, big boy, I've been saying this for quite some time now and he still hasn't represented the US in anything.

Just an opinion.

Yes, you are wrong...Khalid HAS represented the US in int'l comp. This is not an opinion.

The nut of your argument, as Glenn has noted, is specious and w/out merit.

He hasn't since I've been beating this drum. And, big boy #2, this isn't an opinion, it's a fact.