LAGAT IS NOT AN AMERICAN

Ok, silly rednecks...The only people Native to the Western Hemisphere is us...Us Native "americans." So relax, white boys. Lagat is as american as any other white man out there. Long Live Lagat. Longer live BILLY MILLS!!!

truttth wrote:

neither. remind me...where was he born? ur all avoiding the issue

My father was born in Italy. Are you going to tell me that he's not an American either?

What about Frank Shorter. He was born in Munich Germany. He's also considered by some to be the greatest American distance runner of all time. Are you going to say that he's not American either?

Idiot.

Actually, isn't this discussion really about whether he's a white American vs. an African-Kenyan-American? After all, whose questioning whether Collen de Reuck, a South African who represented the U.S. in the Olympics in Athens, is American. Doesn't the discussion reveal tired old prejudices and jealously certain groups harbor toward African, North African and Middle Eastern runners? These seem to be a constant theme on this website.

Redskin vegan ultarunner, MD wrote:

Ok, silly rednecks...The only people Native to the Western Hemisphere is us...Us Native "americans." So relax, white boys. Lagat is as american as any other white man out there. Long Live Lagat. Longer live BILLY MILLS!!!

Uhh, that's actually not correct either. Everyone came from the Eurasian land mass at some point in time. Most anthropologists believe that the human race started in Africa. Your ancestors just happened to come here on the land bridge from Asia to Alaska before others did. First yes. More "native?" No.

RE: GEORGE WASHINGTON IS NOT AN AMERICAN 7/28/2006 2:55PM - in reply to making a point Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

I think the reason why Lagat is an issues is because he has ran pro and represented Kenya in many different competitions.

The question being asked should not be "should Lagat be allowed to break american records."

It should be "where is Lagat's pride to be Kenyan". Did he just jump ship because he knew he couldn't keep making the Kenyan teams? Why is he choosing to represent the USA and not the country he was raised in... and began running in?

I can understand a kid moving to the US and training for his high school and college team... while eventually racing for the USA. I just don't get it when a person represents their home country... and then decides to jump ships.

Free wrote:

Actually, isn't this discussion really about whether he's a white American vs. an African-Kenyan-American? After all, whose questioning whether Collen de Reuck, a South African who represented the U.S. in the Olympics in Athens, is American. Doesn't the discussion reveal tired old prejudices and jealously certain groups harbor toward African, North African and Middle Eastern runners? These seem to be a constant theme on this website.

You hit the nail on the head. If Lagat was white there wouldn't be this type of thread popping up about him.

My thoughts wrote:

RE: GEORGE WASHINGTON IS NOT AN AMERICAN 7/28/2006 2:55PM - in reply to making a point Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

I think the reason why Lagat is an issues is because he has ran pro and represented Kenya in many different competitions.

The question being asked should not be "should Lagat be allowed to break american records."

It should be "where is Lagat's pride to be Kenyan". Did he just jump ship because he knew he couldn't keep making the Kenyan teams? Why is he choosing to represent the USA and not the country he was raised in... and began running in?

I can understand a kid moving to the US and training for his high school and college team... while eventually racing for the USA. I just don't get it when a person represents their home country... and then decides to jump ships.

Lagat ran in college here. He's been a resident of this country for quite some time, at least a decade.

As for his motives to leave Kenya, does it matter? They're probably the same as any other immigrant's - to make a better life for themselves and their family.

Yes, the striat theory. Explain to me why is it the there is older archeological sites in Mexico and south america than in Siberia? Explain to me the difference in mtDNA in Redskin and yellowskin people. I guess we evolved here. Go back to europe wetback.

Agreed with Denver, running probably had almost nothing to do with his decision. He will be a runner for what, 2 more years? The U.S. offers a lot more opportunities in other aspects of life. He has a family.

Also, kudos to the guy who said that Lagat is American, but that this result is probably not as encouraging to most American runners, because Lagat's background (and heritage) is so different from most Americans'. I like the guy personally, so I was glad to see him succeed. But it didn't make me say, I guess I can be world class too.

Thanks for the acknowledgement. I humbly consider myself a fairly decent social engineer.

Was Alberto Salazar an american back in the day?

this is so far from being racist, if mottram decided he would get U.S. citizenship itd be the same thing, its just stupid. He shouldnt be able to get American Records, I don't know exactly what a workable policy would be. I just know that i think its a farse for him to hold records for multiple nations. Perhaps, once one represents 1 nation internationally they are "stuck" or something.

truthhh wrote:

Where was he born? you think because he pulls on a vest it makes a difference? I say b.s! you lot make me laugh, If he worked in mcdonalds and claimed to be american would you embrace him so kindly? one thinks not

Our country, America, is largely made up of immigrants and the progeny of immigrants. Even though my grandfather immigrated to the USA illegally and was a communist, he was still AMERICAN.

Bernard Lagat IS American. However, I am not a fan of him based on the bull$hit that he pulled at the 2004 Olympics with regard to hiding his true nationality. He knew that the Kenyan Federation wouldn't have let him run in the Olympics if they knew he was American. (or did they know already??)

he is american as any of us.

The question is should he be able to compete for 2 different countries? He ran a sub 3:30 1500 meter time when he was still competing for kenya yet it counts as an american top 5 time.

I think you should only be able to compete for ONE country on the olympic/world stage in your life.

Why don't we want to except him as a citizen?

> wrote:

Lagat is an American. However, I can understand why people might not see Lagats good results with as much excitement as they may see an American born American. This is not because we are racist or because we dont consider Lagat an American, but rather because when someone born in America puts up a time close to 13 it shows that even people whose childhood did not contribute to running (having to run to school) can still run fast times. Lagats results do not show an improvement in American distance for years to come, but American born runners do.

this is probably the most intelligent post ive seen on this issue. i consider bernard lagat or any other immigrant to be as american as i am. i was excited to see 4 runners going into the last lap together and 1 of them being american, and knowing that tthe american has more speed than the africans. having said this, yes it would have been more exciting if it was teg or goucher or lincoln in lagats place. not because they are more american than he is, but because they have become runners the american way. this would mean that it is possible for young americans to think that someday they can be up there with the world record holder with a lap to go. id love to see the american records broken soon, no matter who does it.

if bernard lagat had a son, would you accept his son as an american? how many generations would it take?

it doesnt matter if hes american or not..he's on epo

This is a stupid issue, but...

If Craig Mottram (who is white and therefor 'looks' american had moved to the states in college and had gotten citizenship and was racing for the US, you wouldn't have any problems accepting his status. It's just that Lagat looks like all of the Africans who are kicking our asses that you won't accept his citizenship. How long has he lived here?

This is a stupid issue, but...

If Craig Mottram (who is white and therefore 'looks' american) had moved to the states in college and had gotten citizenship and was racing for the US, you wouldn't have any problems accepting his status. It's just that Lagat looks like all of the Africans who are kicking our asses (except Lagat's) that you won't accept his citizenship. How long has he lived here?