The weird thing is you criticize American distance running as if Europe is a distance running powerhouse. It’s not! Sure, you had a great showing in the 1500 at the world championships, and Jakob is exceptional, but what about the other events and your other runners?
Men’s 5K: outside of Jakob (whose success is uniquely attributed to his family rather than a national development system), your best finisher was 14th, behind 2 Americans
Men’s 10K: your best finisher was 10th, behind 2 Americans
Men’s steeple: 2 Americans in the top 8, best European was 9th
Men’s marathon: Bronze medal from Abdi, everyone else way back
Women’s 5K: Hassan (who reached her top form while training under an American coach) got 6th, and Grovdal got 8th, just one spot ahead of Cranny
Women’s 10K: Hassan got 4th, while McColgan finished one spot behind Schweizer in 10th
Women’s steeple: Your top finisher was 5th, ours was 6th
Women’s marathon: USA did much better, placing 3 in the top 8
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.