Check out this photo of the "19 year old" marathon winner

He looks way older than Yifter did in the 1980 Olympics (and Yifter was supposed to be anywhere from 34 to 38 - some accounts have him as old as 42). That's a 50 or 55 year-old face if I've ever seen one, but obviously he can't be that old. I'm thinking at the very least he's around 33 to 35? But who knows...

One way to make someone look really old is to take a picture of them at the finish line of a championship marathon run in hot humid conditions. He doesn't look 19 in the following either but a lot less like somebody's grandpa:

http://losseveter.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Paderborn-Ghirmay-Ghebreslassiei-foto-Rene-van-Zee-IMG_9439.jpg

http://www.thenational.ae/storyimage/AB/20150822/ARTICLE/150829797/AR/0/%26MaxW%3D640%26imageVersion%3Ddefault%26AR-150829797.jpg

http://yucatan.com.mx/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CHINA-IAAF-ATHLETICS-WORLD-CHAMPIONSHIPS-BEIJING-2015.jpg

This is why you should wear sunscreen.

Grandpa Verzbikas? Really? He was one year older than his grade...he's 22 now and actually looks 22. That mention is so irrelevant. But yeah that pic does make Ghebreslassie look like he's 50 haha.

as you feel wrote:

http://losseveter.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Paderborn-Ghirmay-Ghebreslassiei-foto-Rene-van-Zee-IMG_9439.jpghttp://www.thenational.ae/storyimage/AB/20150822/ARTICLE/150829797/AR/0/%26MaxW%3D640%26imageVersion%3Ddefault%26AR-150829797.jpghttp://yucatan.com.mx/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CHINA-IAAF-ATHLETICS-WORLD-CHAMPIONSHIPS-BEIJING-2015.jpg

Yeah, either that first photo is just totally an AWFUL photo of him or it's of another person. In these three he looks believably younger, I'd guess him to be like 23 or so. He's kinda cute, too.

22-25

Who the fvck cares if he is 19 or not?!

He just won the World Championship Marathon over everybody else. This isn't a junior championship.

Here is a good, old USA 18-year-old basketball player in his prime:

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=497760

Yeah we used to call Greg Oden LeBrons Dad even back then.

Shame he is to busy posting Sausage shots these days to play any basketball.

This article could be very informative (not only for Eritrea, but also for Ethiopia, Kenya, etc)

http://www.unicef.org/protection/birth_registration_and_armed_conflict

(1).pdf

"Ethiopia: No official registration system

Ethiopia has no national system to register children. Although the Ethiopian Civil Code requires a child to be registered within 90 days after birth, the legal framework neither specifies the responsibilities of the central government nor identifies relevant administrative structures to undertake registration. The absence of national, municipal and local civil registration mechanisms hinders the collection of accurate and reliable demographic

data.

The country has 14 million people affected by drought, and 6 million have abandoned their homes in search of food and other humanitarian relief and assistance. But the lack of reliable data has created difficulties for food distribution agencies such as the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission.

Projections and planning for humanitarian relief have been based on population statistics from the last census, in 1994. This is one of the reasons why some nomadic groups have received less food than needed for daily survival. The mass displacement has also eroded community memories and damaged family structures and kinship ties. In some cases, the traditional methods of family counting and tracing – the knowledge of who was born,

who has died and who belongs to whom – have been lost. Without a formal birth registration system to replace these traditional methods, neither the State nor the community officially recognize the children, which compromises their protection. In addition, without birth registration, children are more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

Although national law prohibits marriage below age 18, there is no official record of a child’s age. The breakdown of

social norms and traditions has led to an increase in early marriage, sexual violence and exploitation. Boys unable to prove their age have been targeted for recruitment and used as soldiers in militias, particularly in Amhara and Tigray. Despite anecdotal evidence of child soldiering in Eritrea and Ethiopia, without birth records there is no actual proof of under-age recruitment.

Birth registration in Ethiopia is also closely linked to issues of nationality, and political sensitivities have provoked a heated debate. In the aftermath of the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea (1998 to 2000), public opinion is divided between those who support the principle of jus solis, which bases nationality on the country of birth regardless of the parents’ nationality, and jus sanguinis, which bases nationality on the parents’ nationality. In Ethiopia, issues of nationality, identity and inheritance have also been affected by the proposed demarcation process with Eritrea.

This process is on course to cede to Eritrea a key town traditionally held

by Ethiopia, thereby making rights to identity and inheritance difficult to establish without birth registration systems in place.

10 Steps are being taken to address the lack of systematic birth registration in Ethiopia, including preparations to conduct a new nationwide census. In addition, plans are under way to initiate pilot birth registration campaigns

in Amhara and Tigray".

Again, this is not a Junior Championship. If it was, go ahead and raise a stink.

This is the WORLD Championship, where the (supposedly) best of the best come to compete. I don't care if the guy is 19 or 49, he won the gold medal at the World Championship Marathon.

No one would care if the Media including LR, didn't make this a part of the headline in the first place.

This is why college cross country teams with high numbers of African foreign students are CHEATING.

what the...? wrote:

He looks way older than Yifter did in the 1980 Olympics (and Yifter was supposed to be anywhere from 34 to 38 - some accounts have him as old as 42). That's a 50 or 55 year-old face if I've ever seen one, but obviously he can't be that old. I'm thinking at the very least he's around 33 to 35? But who knows...

Yifter looked older than he was because he was balding - same for guys like Ovett or Webb. The African runners used to be older than claimed because they would like about their age to get into the military to enjoy the benefits, like regular meals etc. Today they all lie about their age, more pointedly their federations lie so they can clean up in the junior ranks without trouble and scare off potential future competition. Look at what happened in soccer with the Africans cheating in the jr. ranks. Once the MRI test came in, it stopped. This needs to implemented in the youth and jr. ranks of track. The Africans have a lot of talented people but no morals at all. The jr. age limit would have to be moved to 18, but it would be worth it.

Have a look at the World Youth Championship final in the 800 - the best laugh of all from the Africans is the balding Eritrean "16 year old" in lane 1 who forgot to remove his wedding ring. LOL :

You mean YOUNGER than they claimed to be, so they could get in the military. Kip Keino did the same thing. I remember reading an interview where Keino mentioned he was 3 years younger (or close to that) than what he claimed so he could become a cop or get in the service. Keino was actually funny in the way he would tell stories.

Here he looks considerably younger:http://www.mastersathletics.net/index.php?id=2367

Phantasy Star wrote:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghirmay_Ghebreslassie#/media/File:Ghirmay_Ghebreslassie_Beijing_2015.jpg

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This guy puts Mansoor Ali and Grandpa Verzbikas to shame.

whiny white people wrote:

Who the fvck cares if he is 19 or not?!

He just won the World Championship Marathon over everybody else. This isn't a junior championship.

THIS

Phantasy Star wrote:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghirmay_Ghebreslassie#/media/File:Ghirmay_Ghebreslassie_Beijing_2015.jpg

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This guy puts Mansoor Ali and Grandpa Verzbikas to shame.

Not junior championships, so what exactly is your point? That you can use 14 exclamation points?

Obligatory Lebron James and Greg Oden post. Kid is probably 18