Can someone tell me why Diego wouldn't be able to run the US Olympic Trials?
1) New citizens of a country can compete immediately if they have lived in the country for 2 years prior to citizenship and have not competed for another country.
Diego seems to fit that rule. According to Running Times he didn't run in Daegu so he could run for the US:
"He'd run the world championships "B" qualifying time for the 5,000m, and Mexico offered him the opportunity to compete in Daegu. Estrada was torn, saying, "I was looking forward to representing Mexico at a world champs, but when I got selected for Daegu, I realized that if I took that opportunity, I would have to sit out three years before I could represent the U.S. That's when I took a step back and decided to [decline Mexico's offer to run in Daegu] and start my citizenship process." Estrada became a U.S. citizen on Oct. 28."
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22960
He is correct. If he runs for Mexico he can't run for the US for 3 years.
So can someone tell me why he would be ineligible for the US Trials?
He can choose to run for whatever country he wants but if he could run the Trials and is not because he wants to go to the Olympics for Mexico that is different than saying he couldn't run the Trials.
In the Flotrack interview he makes it sound like he couldn't run the Trials saying, "We couldn't get me eligible for the Trials and there was a lot of politics." I think he then adds: "And I had a suspension (not sure of this word) a lot of athletes go through".
That is at the 15 second mark of this interview:
http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/248561-2012-Stanford-Payton-Jordan-Cardinal-Invitational/video/632570-Diego-Estrada-on-his-A-standard-10k-run-and-running-for-Mexico-at-2012-Payton-Jord
He then adds:
"I apologize for anyone who is upset but that is my American dream being an Olympian... I had to do what I had to do. I had to chase the American dream"
I never thought of the "American dream" as running the Olympics for Mexico but it shows America really is the land of opportunity. It's Diego's dream and it came possible in America. It's not like he's representing some country he has no connection too.
I am curious how he could be possibly ineligible for the US Trials.
Here are two articles from his local paper:
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20120501/NEWS01/205010309
Neither mentions being ineligible for the US Trials.
"But there was a lot of doubt if we were going to get the paperwork done in time (for Mexico). It was pretty stressful."
and
http://www.montereyherald.com/localsports/ci_20518207/alisal-grad-an-olympian
"Estrada's time also qualified him for the U.S. Olympic Trials. But with an automatic spot on the Mexican national team, he chose to run for his country of origin."
So had Diego represented Mexico before and did that make him ineligible for the US Trials? Or is he eligible for the Trials and choosing not to run them so he can run for Mexico in the Olympics?
Here's a question I hadn't thought of. Technically could Diego run the US Trials and still run for Mexico at the Olympics?
The rules bar athletes from competing for a country for 3 years if they have run for another country in "in an International Competition". The US Trials don't seem be an "International Competition" so maybe Diego wanted to run the US Trials, see if he made the team, and then try and run for Mexico? And Mexico said, "No".
I'm just throwing it out there as he said "politics" were involved and I don't see why he couldn't run the US Trials or the politics.