Diego Estrada, takes advantage of USA support, and runs for...Mexico?

Of course, the Mexican letsrun would be saying he's not a real Mexican.

Get off your high horse dude. Nobody really cares what your patriotic standards are for wanting to represent the US. Heres to Diego representing Mexico and four years from now representing the US while running past you saying "gobble gobble motherfvker."

rojo wrote:

I have no problem with him competing for Mexico but do have a problem with him if he competes for Mexico this time and then say the US in 4 years.

If his dream is to represent the US in the Olympics, then he shouldnt' run for Mexico this time.

trance dance turn in shawowski wrote:

I wonder the same thing! Come on Mexico, produce more runners.

Kinda hard when being a 27:40 10k guy doesn't even get you a shoe contract, like Juan Carlos Romero.

Here is the only answer wrote:

Wake me up when he starts beating Derrick.

Who says stupid stuff like this? Whomever came up with the anti-moronism crusade ought to start with this guy.

I'm the Op.

I started this thread, with the idea that the details of Estrada's situation would come out.

"Salinas, California native" "will compete for Mexico" in the Olympics...

The fact that the journalist did not inquire about the details behind that was weird.

Now, that's to getting the new rules clarified, we can see that he probably would rather compete for the USA, but cannot.

And actually, the Olympics is probably an idea who's time as passed in many many ways.

Dustin Emrani, former American U runner competed at the 2008 US Olympic Trials, is now a member of NJNYTC under Gags, and just as recently as this winter ran for Israel at the indoor world champs. At least Estrada is competing for the country he was born in, Emrani is American born and raised and is competing for a country that I don't think he ever lived in for an extended period of time. That seems a lot more fishy than this situation.

Quenton C. wrote:

You do not have to be a citizen of a country to compete for them in the Olympics. The requirements are citizenship, being born there, or having parents or grandparents from that country. Diego could have been a second generation American and he still would be allowed to compete for Mexico.

Now that that is said live the dream and KICK SOME ASS DIEGO!!!!!

That is not true. Citizenship is a requirement.

Wasn't Lagat technically a US citizen in 2004? He competed for Kenya.

It probably depends on the country in question. I was born in the Philippines and became a naturalized US citizen over 10 years ago. In that process, I did lose my Philippine citizenship. A few years after that (in 2003), they did pass a law that stated that becoming a citizen of another country does not mean that you'd lose your Philippine citizenship. Regardless, I still had to go through a citizen reacquisition process, so now I'm a full fledged dual.Since my great grandfather was Irish, if I had known about the rules while my grandmother were still alive, I probably could've gotten triple citizenship due to Irish laws. That would've been sweet.

blort wrote:

"In order to become a naturalized US citizen, a person has to renounce their citizenship to their previous country."

This is not true.

To become a naturalized citizen, you need to take a "Oath of Allegiance" in which you renounce other allegiances". This is not the same a renouncing you citizenship.The United State recognizes dual citizenship and allows it (Arnold Schwarzenegger was a dual citizen while he was governor of California).

Magic Turtle Blood Soup wrote:

On the other hand, the 2:30 Japanese comedian who is running in the marathon for Cambodia seems a bit too much like he is gaming the system.

http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/2012/03/comedian-neko-tapped-for-cambodian.html

If you were a 2:30 marathoner and could go to the Olympics for Cambodia wouldn't you?

You're right that the Olympics are this way, but I think some people are starting to think nationalism is just a little silly. People are people. Where you were born is arbitrary, it's luck of the draw. Humans love dividing things up, classifying them, putting them in boxes and categories, so there will always be "teams" which is essentially what nations are.

But at this point it seems to me that the Olympics should be more about sport at the highest level than a competition between nations. That's just my opinion. If that means 30 East Africans and no white guys in the 10k then so be it. I care more about the sport and seeing the best compete than whether my team wins.

feeding the trolls wrote:

But at this point it seems to me that the Olympics should be more about sport at the highest level than a competition between nations. That's just my opinion. If that means 30 East Africans and no white guys in the 10k then so be it. I care more about the sport and seeing the best compete than whether my team wins.

If the Olympics were only about the top competitors regardless of nationality, I think the next question would be whether the games would be economically sustainable. They are barely sustainable as things stand now. It now takes a government willing to subsidize the games with large amounts of public money.

Without the aspect of competition between national teams, would you get the public interest that drives TV and advertising revenues which pays for the whole thing? I doubt it. Nationalism is part of what creates and pays for the Olympics.

Interesting point, I hadn't thought of it that way. But Olympic sports still exist in non-Olympic years, don't they? The Diamond League relies on corporate sponsorship, not government sponsorship, correct?

Well, since it is hard to hypothesize either way, I'll say this: if nationalism is needed in order to keep the Olympics then of course I will vote for nationalism. But if it isn't needed - if the Olympics could exist as I suggested - I would prefer that.

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know how the Irish feel about Alastair Cragg (South African born and raised, resident of the USA for the past 10+ years) DNFing from international competition in an Ireland uniform?

Didn't know that about Kipketer - I thought the first time he was allowed to compete for Denmark was 1997? If he was cleared by the IAAF, why wasn't he allowed to compete in the Olympics? And what you said about Lagat - I absolutely agree! I can understand why some people would feel this cheapens his taking on US citizenship, but to me it completely acceptable to earn whatever is yours by right, buy whatever means you can, as long as you aren't explicitly doing wrong to anyone else. The race was great for the sport. And the way he celebrated with El G at the finish is an eduring Olympic moment, as much as the race itself.

Unpatriotic wrote:

I'm the Op.

I started this thread, with the idea that the details of Estrada's situation would come out.

"Salinas, California native" "will compete for Mexico" in the Olympics...

The fact that the journalist did not inquire about the details behind that was weird.

Now, that's to getting the new rules clarified, we can see that he probably would rather compete for the USA, but cannot.

And actually, the Olympics is probably an idea who's time as passed in many many ways.

1. Mire hacia abajo.

2. Identifique su vagina.

3. Metete el dedo alla.

4. adentro, afuera, adentro, afuera, adentro, afuera....

Wejo, I was wondering the same thing - why would there be a "holding period" for someone in Diego's situation, especially considering his background and the fact that he declined the chance to go to a WC for Mexico last year. From what I can tell, the question you posed: Is he eligible for the US Trials and choosing not to run them so he can run for Mexico? is inaccurate - what he said seems to indicate that running in the US Trials is not an option for him, so the opposite appears to be the case. He may have had his hand forced because of the rules preventing him from being at the Trials in the first place.I wonder if he is reluctant to speak out now because he perceives a backlash against him.

Whatever politics and lack of transparency has led to this situation is a far more important issue than the way the title of this thread distorts the issue. I wonder if this reeks of John Chaplin too, in a David Okayo-esque bit of HNICism.

Rojo,

I am sad to see this post from you. I love the site, and and I appreciate your work, but I have to strongly disagree with you on this one.

If he was Irish, or Swedish, or some of some other European nationality, this would not be an issue. It reminds me of the whole question of patriotism with Obama, particularly, that whole business about him supposedly being a Muslim; if he were a white dude, wouldn't be an issue. Plain and simple. Not saying the issues are exactly similar, but looking at this case and the uproar over Lagat remind of the racial undertones at work. I don't know. I could be wrong on this one. Name me one white athlete in the US that faced similar (and equal) criticism and I'll gladly withdraw this point.

Race aside, the crux of people's worries here is that he is acting opportunistically by this move, which is true. But in sports, as in politics, or in any other career for that matter, one must be opportunistic to get ahead. That, in a word, is the true American way. When it comes to businessmen operating largely overseas, we do not hold those who succeed to the same standard that you are holding this kid. They uphold the "American Dream" while athletes commit treason. It's hypocritical plain and simple.

I am really tired of these young kids being held hostage by prevailing opinions on what being "patriotic" means. Sports is a business. This kid is from Salinas. What kind of opportunities will be available to him that weren't before? Rojo, you are conflating politics and sports, and that seems wrong to me. Particularly because it implies a placing a negative ethical judgment on someone who has done nothing wrong. If he violated some rules, that would of course change things.

The Olympics has a shameful history of exploiting athletes for political purposes and it needs to stop. Public opinion has been complicit throughout this history.

Diego represents me wrote:

Diego made the right choice under the circumstances. I would have done the same thing and not lost any sleep over it. It's the best desicion for him personally and financially. What is he supposed to do for the next 4 years? camp out? what if he got injured and his carreer ended. He would have kicked himself the rest of his life wondering what might have been. He has the opportunity NOW to achieve the dream of basically every athlete out there. He'd be a fool not to grab it. He is living a dream. I wish I was in his shoes. So jelous of him. Wish him the best and will 100% support him. Go Diego, you're an inspirtation.

Agreed.