Is Solomon Haile really 20 years old?

no 1500 wrote:

.........and your lame asses will be typing away on letsrun. Boohoo!

I guess you're a lame ass.

good one! People say we can't believe what we read on the internet or in the papers but who wrote down his age on the entry forms? Solomon may very well be 18 years old but he shouldn't have lied on his entry forms. Because Solomon has lied on his entry forms it makes everything after that fact questionable. Remember, the only reason this thread was even started was because someone found out his other assumed identity. There is nothing wrong with you supporting him. You must admit he was wrong for lying in the first place or this mess would not even have started.

Very late to this thread. Does he meet NCAA eligibility criteria?

If the document he produced was acceptable for HS competetion he should be eligible for NCAA. I'm sure he has to meet the academic requirements. Solomon would be a good catch for any college program. I just think the problem people are having is that he may need to be competeing at that level already depending his true age. In the end it will not matter I guess but indoor and outdoor season should be interesting. I don't think he will be touched by anyone on the high school level this year.

no 1500 wrote:

Exactly, you do not know all of the info so stop trying to act like you do. If you are a coach and an adult then I hope you are wise and mature enough not to believe everything you hear or read in the newspaper. Worse yet, I hope you do not believe everthing written on the internet. He has no obligation to clear anything up with any of you. Continue the crying all you want. It has now become humorous because all of those attempting to harm him are starting to look like fools. He either will be eligible to run Division I in college or not and it will be based on his test scores. I believe that we will eventually see him at a strong running school if not next year.

Once again, what more info is needed? He provided all the info. He said he was looking for an agent. He said he provided a 1987 birth date. He changed his name when he went to high school. H provided two different stories about why he suddenly got three years younger. He even said he was frustrated by the internet suspicion. Well, it's still here old man. Criminals get away with things. Con artists are successful. I understand that. I just hope that some negative publicity will keep every aspiring pro 20 year old from abandoning the road circuit and joining a local high school team. This is a trend that would suck if it caught on.

I agree with the previous poster, a real coach. Solomon provided all of his own info...more than once. No one forced his hand in doing so and now he is frustated with the internet suspicion. He should be frustrated because this is what happens when you are caught in a lie. He either lied then or he is lying now. Anyway you look at it Solomon has not been truthful. I have no doubt he is well spoken but I have come across some very well spoken liars...I think this is why they are so convincing. If the young man is 18 I feel sorry for him for making himself the center of so much controversy.

Solomon may not have to prove anything to anyone but the school he is attneding or will be attending but he has made himself look like a liar.

There is one good thing that can come from this. Hopefully some other foreigner will think twice about trying to pull a Solomon. I'm glad people questioned his eligibility. I can't even imaging how bad this situation could snowball into for high school competition if people thought they could get away with it.

That's it! I'm going back to high school. Its where all of the best ass is anyway.

http://dailyyeah.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/ht_runner1_080305_ms.jpg

Halie says that the reason he said he was 20 years old in the first place was so he could enter races on his own, correct? Why did he just lie and say he was 18? At 18 aren't you considered legal or am I missing something?

Yes. Yes he probably is.

Solomon is a piece of crap!

How can anyone 'prove' he's overage if he isn't legally required to show any real documents, i.e. passport?

Also, to all of you who say 'innocent until proven guilty', there's a difference between a legal court that's allowed to subpoena documents and witnesses (e.g. the papers he used to immigrate here)and a school that's not allowed to ask for foolproof documents.

Also, Solomon was quoted as saying that "his name has been destroyed." At the same time he has done nothing to resolve the issue other than coming up with one explanation stranger than another -- why doesn't he show the passport he used to enter the country? Page 1 is enough (nobody cares about his visa).

jkl; wrote:

If the document he produced was acceptable for HS competetion he should be eligible for NCAA. I'm sure he has to meet the academic requirements.

It'll be interesting to see what happens because you need to have a valid visa and valid passport to enroll in college as a foreigner. Also, wouldn't his passport be in the name of Semunguse, his official Ethiopian name? BTW, if his Ethiopian birth certificate, too, is presumably in his official name, Semunguse, aren't his transcripts, etc. also going to be in that name?

GET A LIFE. Leave the guy alone. You all sound like pathetic loosers with your speculations and your conspiracy theories. Don't you guys have some better things to discuss? It really is sad. This subject has been talked about so much that it got old 3 months ago. Move on, he won the national championship. He has been CLEARED to run by the proper authorities. He does not need to prove anything to anybody else, especially NOT you guys. Get a life seriously. This is pathetic.

It seems like all of the Halie defenders simply say "get a life, leave this guy alone,etc" but don't answer the questions that us, the people who believe Halie is 21, are asking. So no I will not leave this kid alone and I will continue to ask the questions that should be asked un till Solomon shows his passport,admits hes a liar and overage, or is simply caught for the crook I believe he is. The reason I do this is because I do not want this kind of thing where a foreigner changes his name and age and comes into this country to dominate the high school racing scene and get a college scholarship, it's not fair to the young men/ young women who are playing by the rules. So once again I will ask the questions that need to be asked.

- Why did you claim you were 20 years old before but now your 18? He did this on at least 8 different occasions

-Solomon has said "his name is ruined" because of this whole age issue. Why not show the pass port and clear his "good name". He brought this issue upon himself by lying at one point or just being very careless when doing simple arithmetic.

- Solomon has said that he was 20 because he wanted to enter road races by himself. Why not just say you were 18 which would make you "legal".

- Why did his story change from "the calender in Ethopia is different" and thats where the age issues came from to that he just miscounted the years (I find it highly unlikely that he miscounted by that much that many times)

If you were the authorities, then you would have the right to demand to see his documents. But you are NOT. You are a nobody and should not be demanding anything. He already showed all the proper documentation to the Maryland authorities and he was CLEARED. I believe they said he "passed with flying colors" THEY (you know, the people in charge) are satisfied. It's done. There is no issue anymore. You can continue to entertain yourself with your theories, but it's only making you look like a little high school girl who can't get enough of the gossip. This really is sad and pathetic. Get over it, it's last year's news, let it go bud. Really, GET A LIFE, no, I mean really...

So because I'm not a "authority figure" I can't question things? The world would be a much worse place in my opinion if only the people in charge could question weither something is right or wrong. The state of Maryland is not God and can make mistakes, overlook things, and fold under the pressure of political correctness. Contrary to what you may think it's not only me posting on this thread, theres a reason why this thread has been around for so long, many people in the running community still see this as an issue.

So in conclusion bud, once again I will not let it go. Really, I will keep asking questions and try my damndest to not let this issue die. No, I mean really I will not let this issue die.

Keep fighting the good fight, bob m. I don't know what the truth is here, but something definitely smells SOMEWHERE.

bob m wrote:

So in conclusion bud, once again I will not let it go. Really, I will keep asking questions and try my damndest to not let this issue die. No, I mean really I will not let this issue die.

I support you Bob M! Not everyone can focus bringing the troops home from Iraq, poverty and homelessness, adult illiteracy, battered women and neglected children, teenage alcohol and drug abuse, drunk driving, child obesity, children being born out of wedlock, etc. We also need people to tackle the very critical issue of whether or not some high-school immigrant athletes know their actual birthdates.

Praise the lord that there are crusaders like yourself to take the lead on this front. America's future generations will thank you for it! Do you have a website where we can send online donations?

Haile supporters, it's his own fault his name is tarnished! Letsrun.com didn't ruin his name, he did!! When he was lying on his entry fees the world was not the wiser until he came to this country and someone decided to question who he was. Haile is a talented runner and his accomplishments have thrown him into the spotlight. That's the price that comes along with being great at something. This entire controvery is Haile's fault and Haile's alone. Haile left the door open to be questioned. It could very well be that the young man is 18 but he is not helping himself by not showing his passport. It's his right to refuse to show the document but in doing so he's leaving himself open to more questions. If that is the way Haile wants to play it he has to be mature enough to handle the persecution. In the end all of this controversy will be good for the sport and it will teach others not to try and pull a switch-a-roo.