Yeah, I'm old enough to remember a time when African runners didn't completely dominate the sport of distance running. Sure they won their fair share, but when I was a kid, the love got spread around a bit.
I love watching guys like Geb and Bekele do their thing. What I don't like seeing is crazy stuff like a never-ending production line of African dudes filling out something like 85 of the top 100 marathon times season after season; Kenya/Ethopia's complete dominance of WXC; Their complete dominance at all distance events at Worlds and Olympics.
Not so long ago, a kid from England or the US or Europe or Australia or wherever had role models he could relate to in distance running. If you were a Brit, you had a Steve Jones to relate to. An Aussie had a De Castella. And so on.
Now, the sport is absolutely dominated by a couple of countries. And while they're great runners, it's all become pretty one-dimensional. Like women's tennis when a whole production-line of Russians fill out the upper ranks. And because there's so many of these guys, a lot of them rise for a couple of seasons, and they're gone. Only to be replaced by someone just as fast. So many sub-2.08 guys, but how many will you ever remember?
It might just be me, but I think for the sport to thrive across the world, runners from all over the world need to find a way to step up. To the average young American, Brit, European, Aussie, Japanese runner... these African guys are incredibly hard to relate to.
Their upbringing, their culture, their lifestyle... it's so unlike what non-Africans experience, it's hard to relate to them. You can marvel at them, you can respect them, you can love watching them run. But it's hard to aspire to be them, when you can't relate to their story.
Heroes inspire others to follow in their footsteps because those they inspire can see that it can be done. "He did it, why can't I?" is the logic. So when someone from your own backyard does it, it seems possible. But honestly - what kid from a typical American or European city looks at the latest Ethiopian gun and thinks that? Hardly any. But plenty of Ethiopian kids do. And on the cycle goes.
That's what's so inspiring about the new generation of US distance guys coming through. There's been a whole generation gap, where the men were 2nd rate. Same in Britain (when Paula ran that 2.15 in London, she was the first Brit home in that race. Amazing.) Same in Australia. Same in Europe. Same in Asia. No-one else has been in the race. But now you're starting to get guys coming through good enough to challenge. Maybe not for Gold yet, but the gains are being made.
As one of the world's truly international sports, with low barriers to entry, it should provide runners of all nations some kind of chance at rising to the top. But for too long, the rest of the world outside of East Africa has been second rate.
I hope we're starting to see other nations catch up to the amazing feats of the Ethiopians and Kenyans. The sport will be all the better for it.
Just watch some big city marathons from the pre-African dominance. In the top 10 you'll have an American, a Japanese guy, a Brit, a couple of Europeans, two or three Africans, an Aussie.
It felt like an international event, rather than an African benefit.
Sour grapes on my part? Not really. Just love the sport, and believe that anytime a sport is dominated by one or two teams (in a domestic competition) or one or two countries (in international competition) it's going to suffer.