Almost no one knows or even remembers Molly at this point. Distance athletes in the sport are not compelling at all for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with being from Kenya or Wisconsin.
That isn't true. The general population remembers. At work, where I'm the runner so people talk to me about running, the people that can't name a single distance athlete still talk about Molly's bronze.
An American woman that suffered from an ED, was always injured, and ran her first marathon while qualifying was in the mainstream press and they remember. That is a story that the public can get behind.
The only runners anyone may know right now is Bolt and then Sha'carri for her plane antics. I don't know who these weirdos are who talk about Molly, but they are not representative of the average person.
I am from Germany. As it Frank Shorter. Saladbar was from Cuba....
They are AMERICANS. They African-born athletes at USATF are also AMERICANS. Enough already. Accept it for what it is.
Alan
You are REALLY stretching the truth Alan.
Frank Shorter IS not *from Germany*. Yes, he was born in Munich but guess how long he lived there? Ask Frank, I have. Frank just moved to Falmouth. I don't know where you live but he was a military baby.
Alberto was born in Cuba and only lived there till he was 2, which is less than 1/30th of his life.
Comparing that to what the OP is talking about is like comparing apples to dirt...aka there is no comparison.
If we both get a ticket for speeding but you are going over 100mph (not on the autobahn) and I am only going 10 over the speed limit, are they the same thing? Nope.
Regardless, I know you are a decent person, not a jerk troll, so we'll agree to disagree.
p.s. It was mentioned in an article last year that he moved there from Colorado. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter, he could live in Greenland. Frank is an American.
Almost no one knows or even remembers Molly at this point. Distance athletes in the sport are not compelling at all for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with being from Kenya or Wisconsin.
That isn't true. The general population remembers. At work, where I'm the runner so people talk to me about running, the people that can't name a single distance athlete still talk about Molly's bronze.
An American woman that suffered from an ED, was always injured, and ran her first marathon while qualifying was in the mainstream press and they remember. That is a story that the public can get behind.
It moved you so much that you initially referred to Molly’s bronze as “Mollie’s win”.
I am from Germany. As it Frank Shorter. Saladbar was from Cuba....
They are AMERICANS. They African-born athletes at USATF are also AMERICANS. Enough already. Accept it for what it is.
Alan
You are REALLY stretching the truth Alan.
Frank Shorter IS not *from Germany*. Yes, he was born in Munich but guess how long he lived there? Ask Frank, I have. Frank just moved to Falmouth. I don't know where you live but he was a military baby.
Alberto was born in Cuba and only lived there till he was 2, which is less than 1/30th of his life.
Comparing that to what the OP is talking about is like comparing apples to dirt...aka there is no comparison.
If we both get a ticket for speeding but you are going over 100mph (not on the autobahn) and I am only going 10 over the speed limit, are they the same thing? Nope.
Regardless, I know you are a decent person, not a jerk troll, so we'll agree to disagree.
All the best Alan!
“From Germany” is vague but not necessarily incorrect. My family keeps saying I’m from Madison, WI, even though I was literally lived there for like 3 years and have lived in MD since then.
ANYWAY, I am pretty sure someone like Aliphine Tuliamuk appreciates the U.S. far more than I ever will so good for her and anyone in WCAP running fast for us! And let’s stop pretending this isn’t about race (no pun intended) bc Grant Fisher was born in Canada, Kim Conley was born in the UK, but no1curr …
Our country pays foreign athletes to run in our college system. This has been going on for decades but now our country pays to develop these foreign athletes post collegiately and help them gain citizenship. If we spent those same dollars developing Americans our system would be better off.
We spend way more on Americans than international athletes. Think of all the mediocre white guys who turn “pro” with Hansons, Brooks Beast, NJNYTC etc. African-born athletes who are as fast as them or faster in most cases continue unsponsored unless they are willing to join the army. That’s a wild trade off.
Frank Shorter IS not *from Germany*. Yes, he was born in Munich but guess how long he lived there? Ask Frank, I have. Frank just moved to Falmouth. I don't know where you live but he was a military baby.
Alberto was born in Cuba and only lived there till he was 2, which is less than 1/30th of his life.
Comparing that to what the OP is talking about is like comparing apples to dirt...aka there is no comparison.
If we both get a ticket for speeding but you are going over 100mph (not on the autobahn) and I am only going 10 over the speed limit, are they the same thing? Nope.
Regardless, I know you are a decent person, not a jerk troll, so we'll agree to disagree.
All the best Alan!
“From Germany” is vague but not necessarily incorrect. My family keeps saying I’m from Madison, WI, even though I was literally lived there for like 3 years and have lived in MD since then.
ANYWAY, I am pretty sure someone like Aliphine Tuliamuk appreciates the U.S. far more than I ever will so good for her and anyone in WCAP running fast for us! And let’s stop pretending this isn’t about race (no pun intended) bc Grant Fisher was born in Canada, Kim Conley was born in the UK, but no1curr …
I think people have issue with the Kenyan or Ethiopian-Americans because they didn't grow up here or run in HS here. Somehow that makes them less American.
The WCAP guys still have a service obligation once their time in WCAP is complete.
Our country pays foreign athletes to run in our college system. This has been going on for decades but now our country pays to develop these foreign athletes post collegiately and help them gain citizenship. If we spent those same dollars developing Americans our system would be better off.
We spend way more on Americans than international athletes. Think of all the mediocre white guys who turn “pro” with Hansons, Brooks Beast, NJNYTC etc. African-born athletes who are as fast as them or faster in most cases continue unsponsored unless they are willing to join the army. That’s a wild trade off.
Yep. However, the African born American runners wouldn't be American without joining WCAP. As we have seen with the Ches saga, securing citizen ship through a normal process can take a lot of time.
I am from Germany. As it Frank Shorter. Saladbar was from Cuba....
They are AMERICANS. They African-born athletes at USATF are also AMERICANS. Enough already. Accept it for what it is.
Alan
You are REALLY stretching the truth Alan.
Frank Shorter IS not *from Germany*. Yes, he was born in Munich but guess how long he lived there? Ask Frank, I have. Frank just moved to Falmouth. I don't know where you live but he was a military baby.
Alberto was born in Cuba and only lived there till he was 2, which is less than 1/30th of his life.
Comparing that to what the OP is talking about is like comparing apples to dirt...aka there is no comparison.
If we both get a ticket for speeding but you are going over 100mph (not on the autobahn) and I am only going 10 over the speed limit, are they the same thing? Nope.
Regardless, I know you are a decent person, not a jerk troll, so we'll agree to disagree.
All the best Alan!
These African-born American runners were all developed through the American collegiate system......
Frank Shorter IS not *from Germany*. Yes, he was born in Munich but guess how long he lived there? Ask Frank, I have. Frank just moved to Falmouth. I don't know where you live but he was a military baby.
Alberto was born in Cuba and only lived there till he was 2, which is less than 1/30th of his life.
Comparing that to what the OP is talking about is like comparing apples to dirt...aka there is no comparison.
If we both get a ticket for speeding but you are going over 100mph (not on the autobahn) and I am only going 10 over the speed limit, are they the same thing? Nope.
Regardless, I know you are a decent person, not a jerk troll, so we'll agree to disagree.
All the best Alan!
These African-born American runners were all developed through the American collegiate system......
Alan
That has no credence in the subject at hand, but nice try Alan;)
They came over FOR College and lived in other countries for most of their lives. It makes no difference if they lived and trained here for 4 years. That is a waaaaaaaay out there rebuttal if I've ever seen one.
These African-born American runners were all developed through the American collegiate system......
Alan
That has no credence in the subject at hand, but nice try Alan;)
They came over FOR College and lived in other countries for most of their lives. It makes no difference if they lived and trained here for 4 years. That is a waaaaaaaay out there rebuttal if I've ever seen one.
Facts are they are American and competed in an American (USATF) championship race. Period. End of discussion.
If you or anyone else are unhappy with that result I simply do not care. Petition the USATF to become more xenophobic and demand a "birth country" championships. Petition the US government to change their citizenship rules. Petition the US Army to change their WCAP standards. I have faith in you! Take a stand!!!
The criticisms essentially ignore reality. How many US-born D1 all-Americans or even just all-conference runners are eager to join the military? These kids would rather sleep four to a 2-bedroom and work a health club front desk or man an espresso machine (if not live on mom & dad's dime) in Flag or Boulder than put on a uniform and march around shooting guns as part of a high-stakes team. We don't have a Billy Mills or a George Young walking through that door. Homegrown wussification is the real factor here, not the side-effect of other folks being born elsewhere. You'd think Meb's unimpeachable career would have put these backwards jingoistic attitudes applied to our sport to rest. At least it has for reasonable minds.
Yes, the US is a nation of immigrants and yes, we should welcome naturalized citizens. But nearly all of those running for the “US Army” have had their citizenship fast tracked. The US Army is recruiting Kenyans, giving them passports and paying them to be professional runners. How does that make any sense?
The US armed forces are badly in need of recruits. Young people are, largely, in poor physical health and do not want to serve. The WCAP runners are soldiers first - and, yes, they can be deployed to war zones. The US Army openly recruits non-citizens.
All things being equal and taking out anomalies like Jakob Ing., East Africans are superior distance runners. Just like sprints are dominated by runners with West African heritage even if they are 20 generations deep with American-born descendants.
USATF XC was just an example of good ol' but whoopin' by Americanized East Africans. it it what it is.
I do see a future (maybe 10-15 years away) where only East African runners will be representing the US in all male distance and middle distance events). Just like Indian programmers and doctors nabbing the top spots (e.g.. notice Google and Microsoft CEOs are Indian), you'll have East Africans almost exclusively owning those top 3 spots in running.
The native whites will retreat to ultra running. That is until ultra running starts putting up big dollars and guess what....East Africans again.
The real problem with the USATF XC Championships is that so many of the best America runners don't even bother to show up. Barely anybody at the event is capable of qualifying for an Olympics or Athletics World Champs team in a distance event. America's best should take a short break from their winter training, do a couple XC races, and then return to business as usual. Cross country can be great and a lot of run, as compared to running a half dozen highly controlled track races throughout the season and maybe a road race at the end of the season. Plus, the XC results can't be skewed by who has the latest and greatest edition of super shoes.