Is the Army Killing American Distance Running?

This program is about recruiting and exploiting immigrants, something the US and US military has done for 240 years at least. They have to do this because the supply of white working class kids is running low... wealth inequality is killing patriotic fervor apparently.

Does the army program make US running better? Not really. Basically. we are turning into Qatar. Is that our goal?

And the truth is Chelimo and others who run fast enough belong at the world championships, whatever their nationality. Limiting a country to three entries is bogus anyway. It's supposed to be the world's best.

Finally, it highlights weakness in the post-collegiate system in the US. And why is the system weak? Well, Nike throws around some money to control USATF, USATF then exploits athletes, and revenues are not being dispersed to any meaningful degree. Profit motive over the health of the sport.

Lanana and Coe sharing a prison cell mau help us feel a bit beter about justice in general, but will not change the trainwreck of the Nike-USATF corpororate indistrial running complex.

How fast is your "friend's" 400m time? Chelimo can race a sub-52 last 400m. Can your "friend" do that? The US Army doesn't want to give someone elite treatment who cannot race a sub-57 400m. It's been a long time since USA won gold in either 5000/10000. I'm sick of reading, "Take USA born citizen spot crap." Tell me about USA athletes who get unfair treatment who have a legit opportunity to earn an Olympic gold medal then I may give your position consideration.

douglas burke wrote:

They make USA distance running stronger, all 3 of the 10000 spots the top 5000 runner and I believe 2nd and 3rd best Steeplers, without them the USA distance team is weaker, good for them they love the USA and it's values and like the other 330 million people in the USA, love our way of life, our history, our freedom etc. not only do they love the USA, but they would die for the USA if necessary. ALL GOOD

What a load of BS. Those guys are risking nothing. They will never have their life put on the line. And if the pay or program wasn't good enough they would go elsewhere. Chelimo is just a parasite feeding off the taxpayers and risking nothing. I bet he doesn't even do clerical work where maybe he could get a paper cut. The whole program should be canceled and the money returned back to the taxpayer.

Wellbuddy wrote:

You wrote a long list of grievances, and I only read half your rant but question is what do you want?

If you'd read the whole thing, you might have known the answer to that.

englandjake wrote:

But I'm old and slow. Now all I can do is complain about where tax payer money is being spent....

Why do I find myself slowly slipping into this type of mentality also...

And you can't get out of your mom's basement to even sniff a dollar from real work

You talk about kibet and cheseret. I read some of the Bors brothers just came back from Afghanistan. Bor Hillary was not part of wcap when he made the team last year. He was serving in a regular army. Only a few about 3 of the soldiers join the program directly from AIT but the rest of then have server 4 years or so in the regular army. Don't generalize most of this guys have done the right way

You talk about kibet and cheseret. I read some of the Bors brothers just came back from Afghanistan. Bor Hillary was not part of wcap when he made the team last year. He was serving in a regular army. Only a few about 3 of the soldiers join the program directly from AIT but the rest of then have server 4 years or so in the regular army. Don't generalize most of this guys have done the right way

Do you know what is Paul Chelimo's MOS(military occupational specialty, basically his job within the Army and each Solider has one and it's not being a pro runner)?

Chelimo is a 92W.

I don't think that the Army is killing American distance running but I do view it as wrong. Their citizenship has been bought with their running. I will always think of them as hired guns taking away spots from an American. Every time they race their country of origin is brought up. Why would this be if they were truly thought of as American?

It does send a very bad message to our young Athletes working towards a dream. "Sorry you are not good enough so we are going to hire guys to compete." I'd rather see America not in the finals of these races than to see these hired Kenyans running for us.

Muddler wrote:

What a load of BS. Those guys are risking nothing. They will never have their life put on the line. And if the pay or program wasn't good enough they would go elsewhere. Chelimo is just a parasite feeding off the taxpayers and risking nothing. I bet he doesn't even do clerical work where maybe he could get a paper cut. The whole program should be canceled and the money returned back to the taxpayer.

Most of what the army does is actively counterproductive, so if Chelimo is, in fact, doing nothing, he's more effective than most soldiers.

All he's doing is running in circles. His colleagues are out actively creating terrorists.

I think there is a fundamental difference between immigrants who came to the US as immigrants/refugees to make a better life (c.f. Hassan Mead), and athletes who were recruited to come to the US by NCAA coaches who wanted their specific athletic talents. Fasttracking citizenship (by whatever means) of the latter group is fundamentally little different than what Qatar or Bahrain does that makes a mockery of how the Olympics work.

It's a great American story (that I celebrate 100%) when a naturalized citizen like Mead or Meb or Lomong makes a US team, but I have real reservations about the other category--athletes who would not be in the US at all if they weren't great runners. These reservations do not come from a place of anti-immigrant sentiment. And certainly not a racist sentiment. I would feel the same way if we were recruiting and then granting citizenship to a bunch of Olympic calibre nordic skiiers from Norway.

Ronco wrote:

I think there is a fundamental difference between immigrants who came to the US as immigrants/refugees to make a better life (c.f. Hassan Mead), and athletes who were recruited to come to the US by NCAA coaches who wanted their specific athletic talents. Fasttracking citizenship (by whatever means) of the latter group is fundamentally little different than what Qatar or Bahrain does that makes a mockery of how the Olympics work.

America is a place where the best in the world come to compete. There is nothing more American than fast tracking citizenship for people specifically because they are immensely talented in their field, whether they're a runner, or a chef, or a mathematician.

dsrunner wrote:

Basically. we are turning into Qatar. Is that our goal?

It feels like we are hiring mercenaries. Our home grown talent is as strong as it's ever been, we don't need merecnaries.

The Army should have been doing this 20 years ago when we all we had was Bob Kennedy.

Can fault our military for creating the loop hole for their strategic purposes.

Can fault our government for funding this endeavor with unknowing tax-payers footing the bill.

Can't fault the WCAP athlete for capitalizing on a loop hole to gain quick US citizenship, paid for training, coaching, lodging, travel, healthcare, salary. Wouldn't you do the same if in their shoes?

Can't fault domestic athletes, that have come up through the ranks, for being upset about not making US teams due to government program of buying foreigners for results/medals.

Can't fault the WCAP athlete who genuinely loves America and is proud to be a US citizen.

Maybe the IAAF should impose a rule?

Well... to be fair all the Kenyans are in the army too.

So do American kids out off a career and keep developing after college for a few years, trying to make a US team spot, or do they throw in the towel? It's a disincentive to American-born kids.

The level of hate and xenophobia is insane. Listen, do you really think people like Ryan Hill, Chris Derrick, Ben True etc. will medal in the WC or Olympics? NO! They are so behind the world class level runners it's a joke. The USA is a land of immigrants. The USA imports scientific talent from all over the globe becasue Americans are too lazy to major in math, physics, engineering and chemsitry and other STEM areas. It happens on daily basis. STEM areas are crucial to America. Something like running is irrelevant to the bigger global power structure. If you have an issue with WCAP, then run faster. Go talk to a recruiter and join. Many of you have NEVER and WILL NEVER serve in the US Army or another military branch, thus, you don't know who the Army and military work. WCAP people have army responsiblities as well. It's not all a glamour cake walk. Also, stop calling them Kenyans, the are now American. WCAP leads the way!

englandjake wrote:

Let me start by saying that I am active duty Army, and do think the WCAP program is great. However, the trend I have noticed over the past few years is disturbing.

I think the primary concern is that you're looking for logic in the Army.