WEJO- UNACCEPTABLE

Posting under multiple names is amazing.

huh?

First of all, Salazar had it coming based on his earlier comment.

Secondly, although this website sorely needs an editor, Wejo's comment was funny.

Thirdly, doesn't it seem like lots of elite runners are on asthma meds? It's kind of weird.

Uhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm are you ok dude! they have two sports in Kenya-running and Soccer in that order. Look at your country-if it is US/Germany or any other 1st world country.

I guess then by your reasoning, if we all lived in grass huts we'd be fast. Forget the 8000ft altitude, and that they 'have' to run to school and back, dont have baseball, football, millions of tv hours of sports on TV...sit in and play endless hours of video games. Their culture is conducive to success in distances, much like Ethiopia.

Lay off of Rupp, jeezus-did he do anything wrong? freaking jelous insecure people who cant help bitch on someone for having success they dont have.

"So what if he takes asthma medication" is it banned? is he in trouble for it? why even bring it up Wejo-like its some big deal-do you want us just to have a reaction and give you more hits? well good job then. Al Sal has done an amazing job for distance running, he's allow to make some mistakes and protect his athletes. Boost our athletes dont tear them down.

All those advantages and a bunch of guys who grew up in grass huts and ran barefoot will still dust Rupp. Only in America would a guy who won't come close to medaling be so scrutinized and ridiculed.[/quote]

pwned n00bs wrote: I bet there are many a runner around the world who cannot afford proper health care or frequent visits to doctors for such conditions.

I am pretty certain that there are no elite runners in this world who don\'t have access to a doctor, and elite runners is the context we are talking about. Yeah, the east african countries are poor, but they still take good care of their athletes once they get to a high level.

To answer my own question:

One indication of the prevalence of asthma among elite athletes came when researchers tested every athlete in seven sports on the 1998 United States Winter Olympic team — biathlon, cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, long-track speedskating and short-track speedskating. Nearly a quarter of the athletes, including half of the cross-country skiers, had asthma. In comparison, about 5 percent of the general population has asthma.

The percentage of all United States Olympians with asthma increased from 1996, when it was 12.4 percent, until 2000, when it was 18.9 percent, according to Fitch. But in 2002, when testing became more stringent, the percentage dropped to 12.9 percent. It was 9.1 percent in 2004 and 12.1 percent in 2006...

I understand that the context is "elite runners". But how does one become an elite runner? You aren't born an elite runner. You have to get there somehow. So then the next question becomes, do any asthmatic third-world younger runners (non-elite yet) get the appropriate medical attention and medication in order to help them make that leap to elite status?

I would be curious to see how many elite runners in the US (lets keep "elite" relative - top few % of runners in each country) have asthma or thyroid problems and have medication for them. And then do the same for a distance powerhouse country like Kenya. I wonder if it would show that those with the problems don't ever get to make it in the world of elite distance running in Kenya. Basically, does a kid with asthma have a chance to become a great runner if nothing else keeps him from it like is possible in the US due to the proper medication. Yes, an elite athlete from Kenya could potentially develop some sort of problem and receive the appropriate medication once he/she has reached elite level, but I'm talking about the youngsters who aren't quite elite yet...