Solomon Haile finishes 8th (not 1st) at Footlocker

There is no proof that Solomon is 21.

When Greg Oden was dominating kids in high school why didn't people question his age?

When Lebron James was dominated kids why didn't anyone question his age?

Is it because these guys are American? Now I know that there are problems with birth certificates in Africa, but honestly without any proof this conversation is dumb.

Solomon's parents gave a birth certificate to the school that he attends, what else do you want? You want him to post it online? Get over it. In college all of these high schoolers will be competing against some kids that are 24,25, even 27, so let it be.

this is dumb... wrote:

There is no proof that Solomon is 21.

When Greg Oden was dominating kids in high school why didn't people question his age?

When Lebron James was dominated kids why didn't anyone question his age?

Is it because these guys are American? Now I know that there are problems with birth certificates in Africa, but honestly without any proof this conversation is dumb.

Solomon's parents gave a birth certificate to the school that he attends, what else do you want? You want him to post it online? Get over it. In college all of these high schoolers will be competing against some kids that are 24,25, even 27, so let it be.

he put his age down as 20 in a bunch of road races, there was some other evidence, but i forget what it is

So Haile ended up defrauding 7 runners out of a higher finish place at Footlocker. Of course I will retract this if Haile will simply show any reporter his passport (or even his birth certificate).

Actually I'm hoping Haile will sue me so this dispute can get resolved in a US court. Come on Haile. I dare you!

i dont understand how this can happen. does this kid not have any verification of his agE?

IF HE DID HE SHOULD HAVE SHOWED US.

His high school accepted a photocopy of his birth certificate (which would be very easy to forge). His high school is also too politically correct to ask to see his passport, which Haile has declined to show to reporters.

Dont you just love the haters?

Do and say anything and everything to offer and excuse to explain the Africans successes in distance running.

If we extrapolate the age thing, Im guessing you would all agree with me that the men and women winning in OPEN adult events are actually Masters runners?

So how come 45 yr old Kenyans are beating our college runners and our pros?

GET A LIFE.

There is no proof that Solomon is 21.

When Greg Oden was dominating kids in high school why didn't people question his age?

When Lebron James was dominated kids why didn't anyone question his age?

Is it because these guys are American? Now I know that there are problems with birth certificates in Africa, but honestly without any proof this conversation is dumb.

Solomon's parents gave a birth certificate to the school that he attends, what else do you want? You want him to post it online? Get over it. In college all of these high schoolers will be competing against some kids that are 24,25, even 27, so let it be.

It was documented that Greg Oden and other basketball players that looked over-aged had to carry their birth certificates with them at all AAU tournaments.

And Haile supplied his birth certificate to the proper authorities and was cleared. Oh, but his must have been fake.

mad_staltz wrote:

It was documented that Greg Oden and other basketball players that looked over-aged had to carry their birth certificates with them at all AAU tournaments.

Actually Oden stated in an interview that when he was in highschool he had a copy of his birth certificate on hand becuase so many people at the various basketball camps doubted his age.

Get your facts straight.

this is dumb... wrote:

There is no proof that Solomon is 21.

no, there is no proof that he is 18

Noname wrote:

Actually Oden stated in an interview that when he was in highschool he had a copy of his birth certificate on hand becuase so many people at the various basketball camps doubted his age.

Get your facts straight.

The fact is he needs to show YOU his passport, then we can all rest easy.

Now, Henry Rono was older than his peers at Washington State University, and he won NCAA championships. That would be a big deal, except that Rono managed to set 4 world records, so we all focused on his world records. If Solomon Haile would just run a single world record, no one would care about his age in high school! ...Good luck on that one.

Back when Rono ran at WSU, there were no age restrictions as there are now in Div I.....

There is a high school in Florida that did what the high school did for this kid, accepted photocopied birth certificates...something that natural born students are not allowed....and the soccer team had a 24 year old on the team......the fines that that school had to pay, and forfeiture of games....it was ugly.

Why is that we natural born Americans have to go through all sorts of stuff to 'prove' we are Americans.....but other people do not??????

this is dumb... wrote:

There is no proof that Solomon is 21.

When Greg Oden was dominating kids in high school why didn't people question his age?

When Lebron James was dominated kids why didn't anyone question his age?

Is it because these guys are American? Now I know that there are problems with birth certificates in Africa, but honestly without any proof this conversation is dumb.

Solomon's parents gave a birth certificate to the school that he attends, what else do you want? You want him to post it online? Get over it. In college all of these high schoolers will be competing against some kids that are 24,25, even 27, so let it be.

You wanna know why?

the had bist certifcates ahah

I'd hardly call this a success of African distance running. Haile is mediocre by east African standards, if he had stayed there he would just be another of the hundreds of nameless 14-15 minute 5kers his age. The American kids in the race have virtually no chance of making an impact in the big leagues, but the same goes for Haile, he's not that much better than them.

I've put down wrong information at road races before as well. I've lied about my name and had a good laugh. Whether you think Solomon is 20 or not, he won the damn race so quit crying.

You think if he was next to people racing the whole time he would only run a 15:15...?

Does the age progression thing give an even semi-decent estimate when you are talking about a cross country race?

I put my age down as 20, even older, whenever I showed up top a race that needed a parent signature, the 20 y/o entries are normal.

I have no idea how old he is, but he is in HS, and thats what counts. He went through school like we all did, and if hes in HS he can race a HS race. It's only fair. If you say he can't race hs, but he is in hs, where is he supposed to race?

Why would you put your age down as 20??? when you only have to be 18 to not have a parent signature. Not saying he's guilty or not but it is also claimed that he accepted prize money, which would question his amateur status. Either way guilty or not, his victory will always be tainted and questioned