Wow!! Kenya Sports Editor States The Obvious - Isiah Koech Isn't A Junior

The world Jr cross race is so incredibly competitive that one day when Ritz's career is over with, I suspect his getting 3rd may end up as his greatest accomplishment. It is not uncommon for African athletes to win world jr cross one year and win the senior race the next year and make the world sr list for the 50000 and 10000. Our jr athletes are competing against Africans who are preparing for the Golden League versus trying to me a productive member of their ncaa team. Ironically, most of the African jr phenons only have a 5 year career, which sort of suggest they may have been in their 20s competing as jrs.

the amazing ageless Kenyans wrote:

my name is whaaa? wrote:

...it matters to us when these people come over here, enroll in our school system, and break our junior records saying that they are younger than they actually are...

Well now, which of your junior records did an outsider break?

You are essentially saying that runners should only be allowed to compete in the county they were born in. That's never going to be accepted. The Olympics would die.

Furthermore, schools in the U.S. love foreign students. The students pay higher tuition, and subsidize the education for U.S. students. Were you aware of that schools need foreign student money, desperately?

That is not at all what I'm saying. What I'm saying is we need to crack down on age cheats because it matters. It makes a difference to them, and now it's starting to make a difference for us.

Well there is always this wrote:

douglas burke wrote:

does it matter if the senior men are lying? i mean they are open and compete against the best anyway.

OK. You are either really, really stupid or a terrible (not in a good way) troll.

Why do you call him a troll? He's obviously right. It doesn't matter what age the senior men say they are. It does for the juniors.

TrackCoach wrote:

The world Jr cross race is so incredibly competitive that one day when Ritz's career is over with, I suspect his getting 3rd may end up as his greatest accomplishment. It is not uncommon for African athletes to win world jr cross one year and win the senior race the next year and make the world sr list for the 50000 and 10000. Our jr athletes are competing against Africans who are preparing for the Golden League versus trying to me a productive member of their ncaa team. Ironically, most of the African jr phenons only have a 5 year career, which sort of suggest they may have been in their 20s competing as jrs.

Actually, any change in performance from now on cannot change the value of Ritz's performance that one year. That would be taking it out of context. His performance only applies to that year, and it doesn't matter what happened after that.

Didn't Rupp benefit that year from a sloppy, slow course? Ritz is a good mudder. His mother was a mudder.

my name is whaaa? wrote: Why do you call him a troll? He's obviously right.

Yes, he's obviously right -- so obviously right that everyone (except you and douglas burke) understood that the first poster was making a joke when he said the senior men have been lying about their age.

TrackCoach wrote: The world Jr cross race is so incredibly competitive that one day when Ritz's career is over with, I suspect his getting 3rd may end up as his greatest accomplishment.

my name is whaaa? wrote: Actually, any change in performance from now on cannot change the value of Ritz's performance that one year. That would be taking it out of context. His performance only applies to that year, and it doesn't matter what happened after that.

Okay, now I can't tell whether you're just joking around. You're saying that, to judge whether Ritz's WXC bronze will end up being the best performance of his career, we're not allowed to wait until the end of his career? We have to decide RIGHT NOW (or actually, back in 2001) that this was his best career performance, and if he goes on to win an Olympic medal in 2012, well that's just too bad, because we already decided that WXC was his best performance?

What the heck are you talking about?

Well there is always this wrote:

douglas burke wrote:

does it matter if the senior men are lying? i mean they are open and compete against the best anyway.

OK. You are either really, really stupid or a terrible (not in a good way) troll.

Are you confusing "senior" with "master"?

KsP wrote: Are you confusing "senior" with "master"?

The troll you responded is obviously very young. He realizes he has no chance to break any age group records. He is frustrated and needs a record to chase to realize his dreams.

As a 40 year old runner I prefer to be called a master, not a senior. Seniors are generally retired people, over 60 years of ago.

Nice one wrote:

Darnell wrote: They can do an x-ray of his thigh bone and count the growth rings.

He's not a tree.

Thanks for clarifying.

Darnell wrote:

Nice one wrote:

He's not a tree.

Thanks for clarifying.

You're Welcome

hold the phone wrote:

my name is whaaa? wrote: Why do you call him a troll? He's obviously right.

Yes, he's obviously right -- so obviously right that everyone (except you and douglas burke) understood that the first poster was making a joke when he said the senior men have been lying about their age.

No, I got it, I was just saying, why call him a troll for stating something true?

No, that's not what I'm saying. The other poster said that, with the way junior worlds is developing, it may end up being the best race of his career, giving the impression that how good his career was depended on the strength of races after the year he had run. Lay off, man. Don't be a dick. You're so uptight.

For what it's worth, Koech had a pretty lackluster race for a Kenyan junior team member let alone a 12:53 man, as he finished 10'th. I researched this and for the most part the best junior 1500-5000 Kenyans' age really doesn't matter as much as their exposure to top level senior competitions. Whether it be age fraud, motivation, their aerobic advantage or something else we shouldn't expect Koech to become a 12:35 guy just because of his supposed youth.

TrackCoach wrote:

The world Jr cross race is so incredibly competitive that one day when Ritz's career is over with, I suspect his getting 3rd may end up as his greatest accomplishment. It is not uncommon for African athletes to win world jr cross one year and win the senior race the next year and make the world sr list for the 50000 and 10000. Our jr athletes are competing against Africans who are preparing for the Golden League versus trying to me a productive member of their ncaa team. Ironically, most of the African jr phenons only have a 5 year career, which sort of suggest they may have been in their 20s competing as jrs.

POD and yes, it amplifies Ritz's performances beyond measure. Unfortunately, he'll be retired before others figure this out.

Some people have no shame eh ?

His indoor time regardless of age is amazing. It is an amazing time for someone who is young.

But no, a certain psychology has to raise it's head. Any mechanism that can tarnish the accomplishments of someone who is seen as a threat has to be employed. The relentless way in which some pursue it is embarrassing but they do not care about how it makes them look. Top priority is to tarnish any threat to their ego.

Foreign student-athletes don't pay schools in the U.S. a dime.

the amazing ageless Kenyans wrote:

It matters not what age he is. 12:53i is enough. It's time to move on about whatever age he is.

It sure does matter what your age is if you're competing in junior events.

the amazing ageless Kenyans wrote:

Furthermore, schools in the U.S. love foreign students. The students pay higher tuition, and subsidize the education for U.S. students. Were you aware of that schools need foreign student money, desperately?

Not when they're on scholarship you idiot.