show me an "American elite HS runner" that actually lost their spot to a "foreign recruit." im not talking about someone who's run 9:00. I mean someone who was top ~25 in their event. why doesn't anyone complain about "foreign recruits" in the sprint events? I have seen way more "American elite HS" sprinters transfer around due to the cut throat nature of the SEC.
It could be because the thread is about distance runners. I don't know much about sprinting. I think the main complaint is the age issue. If foreign freshman were 18 and the seniors 21-22 then there would be less controversy. Everyone understands that third and fourth tier academic schools can never compete for elite, U.S. talent and therefore to be competitive must turn overseas. There is a a truly small group of elite runners that school are competing for, perhaps smaller than in any other sport. That said, when a freshman is 24 and sophomores are older than that it is a bit dispiriting for true freshman and others who are essentially running against seasoned performers. Its analogous to boxing out of your weight class and in the long run cannot be good for the sport.
I know a fair amount of Europeans who have come to the NCAA at 20-21 with full eligibility and nobody has complained about their existence. Granted, majority of them don’t end up doing anything relevant in the NCAA. & for what it’s worth, i know of a coach who was aware of a few European recruits and their past time as university students in Europe and worked with compliance to hide that information (and it worked and they got full 4/5 year eligibility). I also think it’s unfair that just because one case like Solomon Kipchoge comes in, we all decide to generalize and label all Kenyans as extremely old. You can have a problem with super old athletes (and also not make death threats to them) and while also not being unpleasant to the Kenyan athletes who are or traditional age.
It could be because the thread is about distance runners. I don't know much about sprinting. I think the main complaint is the age issue. If foreign freshman were 18 and the seniors 21-22 then there would be less controversy. Everyone understands that third and fourth tier academic schools can never compete for elite, U.S. talent and therefore to be competitive must turn overseas. There is a a truly small group of elite runners that school are competing for, perhaps smaller than in any other sport. That said, when a freshman is 24 and sophomores are older than that it is a bit dispiriting for true freshman and others who are essentially running against seasoned performers. Its analogous to boxing out of your weight class and in the long run cannot be good for the sport.
I know a fair amount of Europeans who have come to the NCAA at 20-21 with full eligibility and nobody has complained about their existence. Granted, majority of them don’t end up doing anything relevant in the NCAA. & for what it’s worth, i know of a coach who was aware of a few European recruits and their past time as university students in Europe and worked with compliance to hide that information (and it worked and they got full 4/5 year eligibility). I also think it’s unfair that just because one case like Solomon Kipchoge comes in, we all decide to generalize and label all Kenyans as extremely old. You can have a problem with super old athletes (and also not make death threats to them) and while also not being unpleasant to the Kenyan athletes who are or traditional age.