What's wrong with these numbskull Kenyans/Quataris?

tell you what: you watch all of your friends and family work all year for about $100, and see what you'd do.

what was the reason that khannouchi came to the us?

KK came to the USA for the same reason that my Grandfather immigrated to the USA ILLEGALLY from Russia, by stowing away on a fishing boat out of Vladivostok.

He came to the USA for a better life and for more opportunities.

If Cherono wants to become a Qatari for whatever reason, he is quite welcome there I'm sure.

Damn, Jason. Nice post.

So what? He's now a citizen of a different country, so what if it has to do with money, you guys all sit here and say oh I'd never do that, yeah well you all live in 1st world countries don't you. Maybe he wants a better life, anything wrong with that?

Do you guys think you're the only ones who deserve a decent life? These guys set their families up with the money they make, as well as themselves, I don't even see what the issue. KK is here solely for money, how about De Reuck? Why no fuss over them?

whatever, man. i agree with "immigration services". he's changed purely for a boatload of cash- not because he was

making 100 bucks a year (dude, trust me. the majority of kenyan families make a heck of alot more than 100$ a year- go to kenya and see it for yourself- you've got to get to rwanda or nepal to see that kind of income). anyway, that's beside the point. he basically just sold himself out. that's all. period. my grandparents came from scandinavia as well during the war. dire necessity as jason's grandfather and my family obviously came to america for is a completely different story.

whats even worse, is that this is just the start of it. Unless the IAAF steps in, our sport is in deep shite. Heres why >> this case has opened the doors for ALL the rich Arabian countires to potentially snatch athletes. I know (on 100% authority), that other Arabian countries are now approaching top range Kenyans attempting to duplicate the Cherono/ Albert Chepkurui case. In their quest to get creedence on a world stage, the Arabian countries, WILL be the next superpowers in middle distance running. Think about it, if Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, etc etc buys top range Africans, does God knows what with them (hell yeah Im talking drugs - those guys dont give a f§"k) then we could see at World Championships/Olympics a situation where events from 800m upwards, are filled by 80-90% of "Arabs". It may seem pittiful, but the main reason we see many Euros/Americans/Oceanians etc etc in finals or semis of big events, is because of the restrictions put on the African superpowers (Ethiopia and Kenya) on the number of athletes they can send. I could write for ages, I wont, but I think the sport is heading into the shit - just another thought - think about the negative impact this potentially could have on the viewing public AND money injecting sponsors...

which is why we should get any mention of nationality out of the olympics / world champs

it should be solely for the athletes not some imaginary border

but that would mean less TV $$ so wont happen

So what's the big deal, he changed citizenship.

It happens all the time, usually for money.

wasn't qatar the place where the greek sprinters were mysteriously "found" training when they were supposed to be taking drug tests in thessaloniki or something? they're going to have themselves a serious squad soon!

Did you guys possibly look at the positive aspects of this kind of move?

* Fast runners in countries that would otherwise would never have been known internationally,in any sport (when was the last time you heard of Qatar at the world cup or golf?). That nation gets international recognition.

* The population of that country will eventually accept the Kenyans as their own...after all everyone loves a winner...esp. in countries that seemingly aren't even on the figurative map.

* There's no doubt in my mind Cherono(don't remember his new name) will be a world beater. This might be the catalyst to start some sort of running program in Qatar..a running program in QATAR...who knows maybe years down the road we may see Qatar-born runners as world beaters...all started possibly by Cherono..for all you doubters...remember the first Ethiopian Bekele running the marathon back in the day (50s?60s?)...Geb mentions many times that he used him as a role model.

Same goes for Kip Keino, he open the flood gates for our current super power Kenyans. My point is, you need a runner to give kids something to dream about...something to run for. Cherono and the like WILL imprint this image as role models in these countries.

I don't expect you to go with my view, but this is a good thing for track and field worldwide.

I seriously doubt that having a kenyan come into an Arab country is going to do much to boost interest in running among the kids in Quatar. Even with a nifty name change. That's about like saying Wayne Gretzky will inspire aboriginal kids in Canada to take up hockey. It does usually take someone "like" you to inspire you. If kids in quatar start saying "look, guys from quatar do have what it takes to be world class!", then they are fooling themselves. I doubt Kipketer has inspired an upswing in Danish running.

Also, rivalries might develop amongst the Arabian countries with acquisition of key Kenyans. I'd like to remind you that unlike certain predominantly-white nations, middle eastern nations. Do you think some kid would offer themselves up as a martar like they do in Palestine? We are too f'ckin self absorbed to do anything less than sit and be cynical.

actually no...there are MANy familes there that live on that kind of income. Not just in two areas. Ethiopia is even worse where the average family income is under 100 a year.

At least he won't have to worry about not winning his country's national championship. As many big name kenyans can attest, it ain't always a given that they will even make their national team for the worlds or olympics.

First of all, I think that the editors (or non-editors, as in the case of this website) missed a O on the monthly stipend.

I heard that it is US$1000.00 per month for life. I am not sure about the standard of living in Qatar, but you can have a GREAT time on US$1,000 for a month in Thailand, China and Cambodia.

Second, the more you chastise Cherono, the more you chatise YOURSELF.

Unless you are a full blooded Native American Indian, your ancestors are likely European, Hispanic or Asian. They came to our beloved country, the USA, for more money and better opportunites. THEY SOLD OUT.

Is Cherono any different from the folks RIGHT NOW getting off planes at LAX and JFK, from Korea, Cambodia, Russia, Romania, Argentina and all points in between??? What Cherono did is totally legit and completely within his rights as a human being.

I hope that he kicks ElGuerrouj's ass once again at Paris just to shut you idiots up.

jason

have to take issue with the last post. that's definetly not selling out. that's a different situation altogether. and yes, there are many families living on jack squat in kenya, ethiopia, etc. however, the average joe (or kipkoskei, if you will) is not living off of 100$ a year. give me a break. i can say that first hand because i've spent a fair amount of time in africa. like i said, the nepali's just south of tibet are the ones living off of lentl soup and rice. and yes, 1000 dollars goes a long way in thailand.

random wrote:

then we could see at World Championships/Olympics a situation where events from 800m upwards, are filled by 80-90% of "Arabs". It may seem pittiful, but the main reason we see many Euros/Americans/Oceanians etc etc in finals or semis of big events, is because of the restrictions put on the African superpowers (Ethiopia and Kenya) on the number of athletes they can send. I could write for ages, I wont, but I think the sport is heading into the shit - just another thought - think about the negative impact this potentially could have on the viewing public AND money injecting sponsors...

Then why don't we (America/Europe) train to beat them?

what i'm wondering is where will these guys train. chepkurui owns cars, a decent house, and a farm near eldoret. the kenyan government does not recognize dual citizenship, so i assume they'll now have to get visas to enter kenya - would they also now have to get new visas for the US on their qatari passports? i'm guessing doha is not the greatest place in the world to log miles.