heyyo wrote:
You're ignoring a couple key issues:
1. Like has been said, the countries these "alleged" cheaters come from don't have the same system of birth certificates, making this less about cheating and more an issue about age uncertainty
2. Given the above systemic fact, do you have any proof that any of your accused overage athletes, are "cheating" intentionally? In other words can you show in any way shape or form that there is an intent to cheat?
3. In the absence of the above can you at least explicate on some of the incentives and benefits related to age cheating? What I'm asking is if you cannot prove it with evidence, then at least explain why we would expect age cheating to exist. Simply put, what does an athlete get after winning youth world championship?
Here's your serious conversation trackcoach. Now give me a serious response.
I believe the claim isn't so much about World Youth Championships as it is about hyping new East African professionals based on their age. I'm an agent, I've signed this Kenyan kid who can run, say, 3:32.xx for 1500m. If I say he's 18, he's going to get a lot more attention from meet directors and the press than he will if I say he's 21.
At World Youth Champs themselves, I'm unimpressed with the "rampant age cheating" claim. I just went through all the running results from 2012, and there are exactly 4 runners in 2 events where the times suggest further investigation: Amos, Kitum and Melly in the men's 800m and Kipruto in the men's SC. I know there's been lots of discussion about Amos' age and I believe the consensus is that it's as given by IAAF. Kitum seems to have dropped off the map, which is sad whether he was really 17 when he won bronze in London or really 21. I've honestly never heard of Edwin Kiplagat Melly before today, but again the sad part is that he seems to have vanished. And I have no idea whether Conseslus Kipruto is really as young as reported, but he's clearly a very good SCer, whatever his true age.
I guess you could also investigate Faith Kipyegon, but her winning time in at World Youth in 2012 was nothing special, and her progression seems basically consistent with her reported age.