WHEN WILL WE FIND ANOTHER PREFONTAINE?

I guess that will happen when you win an Olympic medal.

This is exactly one of the major problems with American distance running. We're all sitting around waiting for the next Prefontaine, when we should be looking for the next Geb or ElG. Why does somebody need to be outspoken and arrogant to be good in this country? Geb doesn't worry about speaking out, he just goes out and runs fast. Sure it would be great if somebody would do more to promote the sport, but unless we have more good runners no amount of talk is going to do anything (see Gabe Jennings, for example). Let's worry about winning first.

Hallelujah, brudda. Less marketing BS, more performance. We've become a nation of salesmen with nothing to sell.

Uh, we've got the world record holder in the marathon, who has run under 2:06 twice this year.

Yeah Mick, and hes an American alright!!! ...How do you pronounce his last name again?

Ka Nooo Cheee?

Mickey Gilley wrote:

Uh, we've got the world record holder in the marathon, who has run under 2:06 twice this year.

Sure. Like "we've got" computer scientists from India, physicists from Russia, journalists from the U.K., and engineering graduate students from just about anywhere but here. Maybe our money should say, "In Green Card We Trust."

I know, Khalid's an American citizen, and he's now every bit as American as any of us. I'm damn glad he's here. But he isn't a product of American culture.

Face it, something's wrong with the local culture, if such a thing even exists any more.

Glad to see all you skinheads are part of the running community.

thanks Mick, I'm more towards the moderate middle of the political spectrum though...But then again, I guess you were watching Khalid tear it up through high school and in his college days right? I guess he was an inspiration growing up for you while he was winning big races...for Morocco. The point is, the last post was right, there is something that needs to be examined in our culture.

You are fooling yourself about your sentiments if you dismiss immigrants as not real "americans" so easily.

Although it tears me up to admit I read RWOL, this is today's Bell Lap Op-Ed by Tony Reavis,

Not Born but Made in America by Toni Reavis

What is it? His accent? His religion? The fact that he wasn't born here? When will we finally embrace this guy? What more does he need to do to win us over?

"Here comes the first American," intoned the P.A. announcer at last Sunday's 25th LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. "Alan Culpepper."

Certainly, Alan ran a magnificent marathon debut, but the first American crossed the line 3:45 ahead of him. The first American won the race! So, too, with the local television coverage. Graphic: World record - 2:05:38, American record - 2:07:01. No, wrong. World and American record - 2:05:38. Khalid Khannouchi is an American, and was in London this past April.

These may seem like minor errors to some, or nitpicking, and certainly none of this was done out of any malice. But though they are minor, these points are telling, nevertheless. Shadings of this kind always are, always have been.

For all his excellence, Khalid Khannouchi has yet to become "one of ours". Which is an irony of the first order. For the Khannouchi story is the quintessential American immigrant's story, the kind Ken Burns turns to gold on PBS every few years. Khalid is American history come to life. A man frustrated with his lot in his homeland who comes to America to seek the one thing which this land has always held out to the world: opportunity.

From the most humble of beginnings -- washing dishes in a Brooklyn restaurant before training late at night -- Khalid has pulled himself up to a most glorious height. Then, even when the King of Morocco invited him to return to the land of his birth following the onset of his world marathoning success, Khalid graciously declined. His allegiance, he said, was to America which had given him so much, to America where he had found himself, his wife, his life.

When we teach our children the qualities that built America and made her great, when we righteously stand astride an increasingly menacing world and reach for the moral high ground, it is a story like Khalid Khannouchi's that makes our words, our ideals ring true. That his saga is yet to be so elevated, especially in such times as these, is not just unfortunate for a good man, it is a dearly missed opportunity for all of us Americans.

Khalid had already been a world-class junior runner before he came to the U.S. He simply brought his assets with him, and these included a hell of a lot of courage.

Circumstance made the U.S. a better place than Morocco for Khalid to develop his talents. Sometimes the converse is true. About 10 years ago, there was a 400m hurdler from UCLA (sorry, can't remember her name) who moved to Spain and became a Spanish citizen because she felt she wasn't getting the support she needed in the U.S. The change apparently agreed with her. Within a short time after leaving the U.S., she became a world-class hurdler and was a contender for a medal at the world champs in Tokyo, although I don't think she got one. Different circumstances suit different people.

But I do agree with Tony Reavis that the Chicago announcer's slip -- if it was a slip -- was very unfortunate. I hope he at least apologized to Khalid later.

When was KK's 1st race as an american?

Mick wrote:

When was KK's 1st race as an american?

AFAIK, last year in Edmonton. Why?

Hate to have to break it to you, Auntie, but a "world-class junior" does not run in the WUG.

Uncle Samantha wrote:

Hate to have to break it to you, Auntie, but a "world-class junior" does not run in the WUG

.

He apparently ran on the Moroccan team in 1992, when he was 20 y.o. So maybe I was off by a year. Regardless, he was damn good before he came over.

But then again, I guess you were watching Khalid tear it up through high school and in his college days right?

Hmm... maybe "tearing it up in high school and in his college days" is why we don't have Gebs or El Gs?

Maybe not entirely. But, I'm sure its not helping...

Are you kidding- KK, Keflezegi, Abdirahmian, Maree, Barrios, Salazar. Great American runners!

When Said Aouita was dominating the world and talking smack, every cheesy American was saying what an arrogant asshole he was. He was great for the sport. Now "we" need someone vocal?

We do have another Pre, she is not a man nor is she an american, but she is tough, fast, and out spoken... Paula Radcliffe.

x wrote:

We do have another Pre, she is not a man nor is she an american, but she is tough, fast, and out spoken... Paula Radcliffe.