Maybe its just me but does anyone else get bothered by these guys who run for a country they aren't actually from. You could find 50+ million people with German heritage in the US. It's so lame he pretends he is German just to travel to meets he has no business being at. He wouldn't have sniffed the US team and made this final through luck with being in the right heat and because Woody tripped.
Going a bit deeper here, why does this bother you? I get why people get upset when immigrants make a US team and take a spot a native born American would have gotten, though I disagree with them. But as many people here have mentioned, Parsons is no medal threat. He's not going to push Fisher out of a medal. Making the final is a real top level achievement. If he'd been born in Germany would this be different for you?
You've technically made an argument against your own point here.
Parsons wasn't born in Germany, doesn't live in Germany, hasn't lived in Germany, didn't represent them as a junior, but has now elected to, in order to make it easier to make a National team.
Now he may be entitled to do that (and I'm not stating which side I back) but those German born athletes who have grown up and lived there all their lives who may be just 1sec behind Parsons' times probably feel exactly how you just described - and Parsons isn't even an immigrant, he is someone permanently overseas who stepped through a crack in the rules.
People rip Tinman, Parsons etc with glee but I tell you what, if you don't respect the hell out of that performance you aren't a fan of the sport.
He put it all out there and covered every move he had to, hung insanely tough with 600 to go in blazing heat - that was gnarly. He was so spent at the finish they had to carry him from the mixed zone back to the warmup area and dunk him in an ice bath and stuff gel into his mouth.
He obviously isn't going to win or even be close to contending but nobody deserves their spot in the final of the 5000m more than Parsons and at worst he will be 15th best 5000m runner in the world this year - that is pretty freaking good.
First- I applaud the story of a guy that gave it his all as you describe, but I literally couldn’t identify him in a line up.
Second- weren’t there were ~15 guys that ran faster than 13:20 at the BU meet in February? LOL
15th best in the world… LOL… this place cracks me up sometimes.
People rip Tinman, Parsons etc with glee but I tell you what, if you don't respect the hell out of that performance you aren't a fan of the sport.
He put it all out there and covered every move he had to, hung insanely tough with 600 to go in blazing heat - that was gnarly. He was so spent at the finish they had to carry him from the mixed zone back to the warmup area and dunk him in an ice bath and stuff gel into his mouth.
He obviously isn't going to win or even be close to contending but nobody deserves their spot in the final of the 5000m more than Parsons and at worst he will be 15th best 5000m runner in the world this year - that is pretty freaking good.
Guess I am not a fan of the sport. Also the point is he's not the 15th best 5000m runner in the world and cheated the system to get in the championships and was lucky to make the final. That's why it's annoying
Guess you are not. What you are is a miserable, envious tw@t who finds another humans success (one I would guess you have never met face to face and spoken with in your life before) "annoying". Truly pathetic and no, not a fan.
And exactly what is your point? Even if he finishes dead last Sunday he is the 15th best in the world because this is the world championships and this is the ultimate measure of needing to do it when it matters. Will the winner of the race not be the best in the world? You're a clown.
Secondly, he "cheated the system"? By legally running for a nation he is allowed to because of a parent? As opposed to those who take performance enhancing drugs? As opposed Kenyans and Ethiopians literally bought by countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, Kazakhstan? Get. The. F--k. Outta. Here
Thirdly, lucky to make the final? This is how I know you're more of an anemic jackoff than a fan of the sport. Because there was absolutely zero luck in that. The guy ran himself into a daze to get through - that isn't luck, it's intestinal fortitude.
People rip Tinman, Parsons etc with glee but I tell you what, if you don't respect the hell out of that performance you aren't a fan of the sport.
He put it all out there and covered every move he had to, hung insanely tough with 600 to go in blazing heat - that was gnarly. He was so spent at the finish they had to carry him from the mixed zone back to the warmup area and dunk him in an ice bath and stuff gel into his mouth.
He obviously isn't going to win or even be close to contending but nobody deserves their spot in the final of the 5000m more than Parsons and at worst he will be 15th best 5000m runner in the world this year - that is pretty freaking good.
First- I applaud the story of a guy that gave it his all as you describe, but I literally couldn’t identify him in a line up.
Second- weren’t there were ~15 guys that ran faster than 13:20 at the BU meet in February? LOL
15th best in the world… LOL… this place cracks me up sometimes.
So what will the winner of the world title be? You know at the one event where those who qualify through their performances (and not just one, like at the BU meet in Feb), actually have to square off against each other at the same place, same time, same conditions?
LOL, this place cracks me up sometimes (actually makes me smile wryly in a sense of sympathy for all you alleged "fans" who are nothing but sad, angry, quietly desperate losers).
First, he did it to make teams not to ‘honor his heritage’ or some bs he claimed at the announcement. No problem with it if you have the option (see: Aisha Praught), but at least tell the truth.
Second, his German is absolutely terrible. I wouldn’t say “he speaks German.”
Third, he must have been miffed on the start line standing next to an American, hearing the reception, and then hearing crickets when he was announced.
Yes, I don’t particularly like him. Yes, enjoyed the silence when he was announced. And yes, I would like him much more if he was open about why he switched nationalities.
It's sounded pretty decent to me. Granted it was simple conversational German but I barely understand even that level of German.
Thanks. Usually I don't get answers when I ask that kind of question. So I'll push a bit further. If someone is born in Germany this wouldn't bother you, you say. What if Parsons had been born in Germany but the family moved to the US before he was one? So he grows up like any other American kid but then decides to run for Germany because he can. On what you said, you'd be okay with that but how different is that from being born in the US to a parent with German citizenship? And you mention using resources. The resources are Germany's. Why do you care how the Germans use their resources?
First- I applaud the story of a guy that gave it his all as you describe, but I literally couldn’t identify him in a line up.
Second- weren’t there were ~15 guys that ran faster than 13:20 at the BU meet in February? LOL
15th best in the world… LOL… this place cracks me up sometimes.
So what will the winner of the world title be? You know at the one event where those who qualify through their performances (and not just one, like at the BU meet in Feb), actually have to square off against each other at the same place, same time, same conditions?
LOL, this place cracks me up sometimes (actually makes me smile wryly in a sense of sympathy for all you alleged "fans" who are nothing but sad, angry, quietly desperate losers).
The winner of a world title is the winner of that race, that day.
Going a bit deeper here, why does this bother you? I get why people get upset when immigrants make a US team and take a spot a native born American would have gotten, though I disagree with them. But as many people here have mentioned, Parsons is no medal threat. He's not going to push Fisher out of a medal. Making the final is a real top level achievement. If he'd been born in Germany would this be different for you?
You've technically made an argument against your own point here.
Parsons wasn't born in Germany, doesn't live in Germany, hasn't lived in Germany, didn't represent them as a junior, but has now elected to, in order to make it easier to make a National team.
Now he may be entitled to do that (and I'm not stating which side I back) but those German born athletes who have grown up and lived there all their lives who may be just 1sec behind Parsons' times probably feel exactly how you just described - and Parsons isn't even an immigrant, he is someone permanently overseas who stepped through a crack in the rules.
The only other German in the 5,000 was Thorwirth so I doubt there are Germans who didn't get to go because Parsons went. Thorwirth seemed happy that Parsons got to the final. But this is how the world is now and even if there is a German runner or two who got bumped by Parsons and are unhappy the answer to them is the same as to US runner who missed out on the last Olympics because Chelimo is here; run faster.
Guess I am not a fan of the sport. Also the point is he's not the 15th best 5000m runner in the world and cheated the system to get in the championships and was lucky to make the final. That's why it's annoying
Guess you are not. What you are is a miserable, envious tw@t who finds another humans success (one I would guess you have never met face to face and spoken with in your life before) "annoying". Truly pathetic and no, not a fan.
And exactly what is your point? Even if he finishes dead last Sunday he is the 15th best in the world because this is the world championships and this is the ultimate measure of needing to do it when it matters. Will the winner of the race not be the best in the world? You're a clown.
Secondly, he "cheated the system"? By legally running for a nation he is allowed to because of a parent? As opposed to those who take performance enhancing drugs? As opposed Kenyans and Ethiopians literally bought by countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, Kazakhstan? Get. The. F--k. Outta. Here
Thirdly, lucky to make the final? This is how I know you're more of an anemic jackoff than a fan of the sport. Because there was absolutely zero luck in that. The guy ran himself into a daze to get through - that isn't luck, it's intestinal fortitude.
Back to your hole little man.
You’re absolutely right about the bolded part, but you’re missing the fact that the second most important day is the day of your actual country’s trials and he wouldn’t have sniffed the US team.
Second, the athletes that are bought by Bahrain and Kazakhstan are A1, top tier, world champ level talents. They would make the Kenyan team anyway, so who really cares (other than the fact that a final can have 6 or 7 actual Kenyans in it).
You’re right about the third part, he ran really well that day and deserved to be in the final with the way the system works.
However, calling him 15th best in the world is disingenuous when it isn’t an open entry meet. Of course the medallists and champs are the best, because they beat basically all comers by transitive property. 15th does not have the same qualities.