This is absolutely true. The kid has no one but himself to blame. Additionally, no one is pointing out another reason why Haile would have had to change his story from the Coptic-calendar snafu: the numbers don't make sense. The coptic calendar is basically the same as the United States calendar with the exception of an extra 5-6 days at the end of each year. If you were to convert an 18 year old's age into "Coptic years," you get an age within 6 months of the orignial age.
The other possibility for confusion is that, over time, the years have become dislocated. This year, for instance, is 2001 in the Coptic Calendar. But if Haile were really 18 in 2008, as he claims, then he would have a Coptic year of birth of 1983 or 1984, which would have caused him to fill out age 24 or 23 on all of those 2007 racing forms.
Is there anyone who knows a little more about the Coptic Calendar conversions who can clarify my understanding? To me, it seems pretty clear the "kid" is lying through his teeth. It just doesn't pass the smell-test. What kind of 17-18 year old travels all over the world to run races, anyway? And tells the Washington Post he's looking for a manager? And then enrolls in high school and, despite perfectly legitimate questions surrounding his age and status, refuses to produce a passport that could easily confirm his story and put all of this stuff to bed?
It reminds me of all those times Sammy Sosa said he would happily submit drug tests if the league had them, and then Rick Reilly (with Sports Illustrated) arranged a test for Sammy one day after a game and Sosa called him an a**hole and refused.