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

rojo wrote:

Think of it this way. Cheserek is the equivalent of the #1 pick in the NFL draft or the #1 free agent. Talk about what team he'll ultimately end up playing for is not racist, it's called being a fan of the sport.

This is wrong. The #1 draft pick or #1 free agent does not have to change allegiance from his home nation to the USA to play in the alphabet soup sports. And he wouldn't have to to be the #1 professional runner (someday) racing in the USA and across the globe. But, he would have to LEGALLY CHANGE HIS CITIZENSHIP to compete as an American. And that's deeper than sport.

Trying to find something everyone can agree on. Can we all agree that it's weird the article didn't mention Lagat who is the most obvious similarity to Cheserek if Ches becomes a US citizen.

Don't understand how Chez is being fast-tracked to US citizenship by next year while Sam Chelanga has been waiting 4-5 years with no word yet on how close he is.

I would go with Chelanga as the next great US distance runner (with 27:08 & 13:04 creds) if he gets citizenship before he gets too old.

WhatsGoingOnHere? wrote:

Don't understand how Chez is being fast-tracked to US citizenship by next year while Sam Chelanga has been waiting 4-5 years with no word yet on how close he is.

I would go with Chelanga as the next great US distance runner (with 27:08 & 13:04 creds) if he gets citizenship before he gets too old.

Yeah, I kind of assumed he was a lock for the US team in the 10000m, but can't believe his citizenship hasn't come through yet.

WhatsGoingOnHere? wrote:

Don't understand how Chez is being fast-tracked to US citizenship by next year while Sam Chelanga has been waiting 4-5 years with no word yet on how close he is.

I would go with Chelanga as the next great US distance runner (with 27:08 & 13:04 creds) if he gets citizenship before he gets too old.

Where does it say Cheserek is being fast-tracked for citizenship? All the article says is that he is seeking a an extraordinary ability visa. I assume that's what Chelanga is doing as well. And there are articles dating back to 2010 saying that Cheserek was seeking US citizenship, about as long as Chelanga and hardly on a fast track.

How about this...if you come to America and are trained by American hs and college coaches...taking the place of born Americans...then you can legitimately become a US citizen and run for the USA? In fact maybe you should become a US citizen before being able to take training opportunities away from born Americans.

Bad Wigins wrote:

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

ehyooooooo

God Bless the USA wrote:

How about this...if you come to America and are trained by American hs and college coaches...taking the place of born Americans...then you can legitimately become a US citizen and run for the USA? In fact maybe you should become a US citizen before being able to take training opportunities away from born Americans.

Oh boo hoo. Poor "born Americans". We can't keep up. Let's ban outside competition. That sounds like a great way to man up.

Oh boo hoo.

So realize you may not be attacking Cheserek explicitly...but,

Our records..?

Unless your name is Dathan Ritzenhein, German Ferndandez or Grant Fischer, what do you care about the records?

Those types of guys want to get better. They are rarely the ones complaining about age differences and foreigner vs. domestic bred crap. They compete to be the best, period. After all, at some point, there is no more filter that allows for easy wins and soft records.

With people like Chesrek raising the bar, they force everyone to dream a bit bigger, race a bit harder and believe with more intensity.

Are you surprised at how many guys Oregon has in the distance races this year at NCAAs? Do you think having a guy like Cheserek on their team had anything to so with it.

Bro - face it... The best guys WELCOME increased competition at any level. It makes them better.

Hopefully you can see it the same way.

That's just the last thing the WSJ is wrong about. The next great American runner is an AMERICAN from Montana State and Salinas CA. Leo the Lion II.

What you described is a desire, not a musing.

As Rojo stated in response to my post, people that watch track once every four years during the olympics might not be wondering about that, but people that follow the sport are.

Okay?

I never stated that Edward's accomplishments, if he becomes an American citizen, wouldn't be recognized as being the accomplishments of an American.

Irrelevant objection.

And there will always be people like you who cry "racist!" at everything. It's old. It's tiresome. It's an insult to people who are actually victims of racism.