Today's Wall St.Journal: "U.S.'s Next Great Runner: A Kenyan"

Several thoughts.

1. The article does a good job of pointing out how USATF doesn't actively recruit foreigners like say US soccer.

2. Importing foreigners bothers a lot of running fans but the US does it in every endeavor (google founders for example).

3. Is Cheserek really the "the worlds (sic) next great distance runner?"

Yes, he's good. Do I think he could eventually medal? Yes. A Lagat type. But the way that was worded caught me a little off guard. I think of "The world's next great distance runner" as a bekele, haile type. A born megastar.

4. If he becomes a US citizen, does that mean the "agers" ( that's a play on birther' - I'm talking about those who think Cheserek was overaged in HS) would find out how old he actually is or is it easy to hide your DOB even on a citizenship application?

It will be interesting if he ends up running for the US. Rupp fans have always been able to fall back on hating Lagat because he is a foreginer that got US citizenship. That line will become much more blurred if their Oregon King makes the switch.

Impossible. He is not an American.

rojo wrote:

4. If he becomes a US citizen, does that mean the "agers" ( that's a play on birther' - I'm talking about those who think Cheserek was overaged in HS) would find out how old he actually is or is it easy to hide your DOB even on a citizenship application?

Did anyone ever figure out how overage he was/is? That was the rumor in NJ.

i'm all for immigrants - but not for immigrants to play us for fools. Lagat ran for Kenya in the Olympics while a US citizen. Cheserek broke all of our HS records while many believed he was overaged.

nj native wrote:

rojo wrote:

4. If he becomes a US citizen, does that mean the "agers" ( that's a play on birther' - I'm talking about those who think Cheserek was overaged in HS) would find out how old he actually is or is it easy to hide your DOB even on a citizenship application?

Did anyone ever figure out how overage he was/is? That was the rumor in NJ.

i'm all for immigrants - but not for immigrants to play us for fools. Lagat ran for Kenya in the Olympics while a US citizen. Cheserek broke all of our HS records while many believed he was overaged.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/post.php?board=1&reply=6371608http://postimg.org/image/z7hddo4iz

While Lagat did hide his citizenship he wouldn't have ran in the 2004 olympics anyways if he did reveal it as AK would not have let him. Honestly with how important the 1500m was i'm glad he hid his citizenship and ran at all. El G finally had his moment where he claimed gold coming back on Lagat in the homestretch after not even going in the real favorite after Lagat dusted him in Zurich.

If Lagat had revealed his citizenship and not ran El G would have trounced the field and won easily but there would have been a big fat question mark of what if lagat had ran, i mean he just beat El G in Zurich he could beat him in Athens too and that would have put a massive question mark on all of El G's, the best miler ever, career.

While i dont like what he did in hiding his citizenship.. for the sake of an amazing and historically significant race I think it was fine when you look back on it.

He is really good.

But is he setting records that no one else has approached? No.

Will he improve? Probably.

Yet, wasn't there a recent indoor meet where he got his head handed to him?

SilentMajority wrote:

Impossible. He is not an American.

He could run for President like his fellow countryman.

HI wrote:

nj native wrote:

Did anyone ever figure out how overage he was/is? That was the rumor in NJ.

i'm all for immigrants - but not for immigrants to play us for fools. Lagat ran for Kenya in the Olympics while a US citizen. Cheserek broke all of our HS records while many believed he was overaged.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/post.php?board=1&reply=6371608http://postimg.org/image/z7hddo4iz

While Lagat did hide his citizenship he wouldn't have ran in the 2004 olympics anyways if he did reveal it as AK would not have let him. Honestly with how important the 1500m was i'm glad he hid his citizenship .

In other words you're glad he was a cheat?

rojo wrote:

Several thoughts.

1. The article does a good job of pointing out how USATF doesn't actively recruit foreigners like say US soccer.

2. Importing foreigners bothers a lot of running fans but the US does it in every endeavor (google founders for example).

3. Is Cheserek really the "the worlds (sic) next great distance runner?"

Yes, he's good. Do I think he could eventually medal? Yes. A Lagat type. But the way that was worded caught me a little off guard. I think of "The world's next great distance runner" as a bekele, haile type. A born megastar.

4. If he becomes a US citizen, does that mean the "agers" ( that's a play on birther' - I'm talking about those who think Cheserek was overaged in HS) would find out how old he actually is or is it easy to hide your DOB even on a citizenship application?

LOL "...think Cheserek was overaged (sic) in HS." LOL

Anyone who saw him in person in HS knows he was older than what he claimed. You PC phags are hilarious.

Kni Snag wrote:

Anyone who saw him in person in HS knows he was older than what he claimed. You PC phags are hilarious.

Wrong. I saw him run many many times and not once did I think he looked older than all the other high school kids out there. Not to mention, he was from an area with good birth records and from an orphanage with good documentation as well.

Admit it, you're just a racist.

MAROON!! wrote:

Kni Snag wrote:

Anyone who saw him in person in HS knows he was older than what he claimed. You PC phags are hilarious.

Wrong. I saw him run many many times and not once did I think he looked older than all the other high school kids out there. Not to mention, he was from an area with good birth records and from an orphanage with good documentation as well.

What facts supports your claim?

MAROON!! wrote:

Not to mention, he was from an area with good birth records and from an orphanage with good documentation as well.

Admit it, you're just a racist.

Orphanage? Cheserek is not an orphan. Isn't that clear by now? That somehow got our there as a result of some bad reporting but wasn't true.

zoltan wrote:

MAROON!! wrote:

Wrong. I saw him run many many times and not once did I think he looked older than all the other high school kids out there. Not to mention, he was from an area with good birth records and from an orphanage with good documentation as well.

What facts supports your claim?

Probably the same facts that support Kni Snag.

....aaaaand here comes the racist trump card! My goodness, that's getting REALLY old and annoying.

"America's". Right. Maybe we should see if Farah wants to change over too? Give him enough money and he probably would.

This is a SLAP in the face to Real American Winners like Rupp.

I don't really see a problem with America's star distance runner being born in the same country as America's president.

Is he America's next great runner?

Maybe; if he becomes an American citizen.

This bit struck me as though the writer didn't understand the situation though -

"American distance runners have spent much of the past two decades losing to Kenyans and Ethiopians. Now the U.S. just might be on the verge of fixing that problem if a fast Kenyan named Edward Cheserek becomes an American....."

Edward has kenyan genetics. No one questions if east africans, or those with east african genetics can be great distance runners. What people wonder is if someone without those genetics to beat the kenyans and ethiopians.

It is similar to Lagat winning championship medals. Yes, he beat the east africans, but he was an east african and changing his citizenship didn't eliminate the genetic advantages he was born with. That takes nothing away from his wins, but it isn't what people were wondering about.

America's next great mid/long distance runner is Blankenship. Dude is fierce.

rojo wrote:

2. Importing foreigners bothers a lot of running fans but the US does it in every endeavor (google founders for example).

Huh? Sergey Brin is foreign-born, yes, but came to the U.S. when he was six years old. Larry Page was born and raised in Michigan.