Hopefully an olympian this year....Will be interested to see how she runs off of 6 days of recovery this weekend and USATF XC
Yes, I’m very interested to watch the USATF Cross Country Champs to see how she does (as well as others). As the Worlds are this year again and they can represent the USA as “prep” to representing the USA in Paris.
That’s a stretch. She started HS here at 19 or something and had already been running JR international level before the US poached her. Her entry into the US is mad weird. She did the same thing you guys usually whine about on the board (skipping visa). She manipulated our soft rules and it worked in her favor.
OK, so lets get this straight "misrepresented facts." All of what I am about to say is easily verifiable and fact.....
She arrived here at 17, legally to run the world championships in oregon. As soon as the World Champs were over, she filed for Asylum. She fled a very oppressive country that was going to force her to join the military on december 1st, when she turned 18. She ran her first season of HS xc as a 17 year old and was classified as a soph. Season two of XC, she was 18 and turned 19 a week before she won the foot locker title. She then had a track season left of eligibility.
As she wanted to do things right and truly be able to live the American dream, she chose to stay in HS to get her diploma, even though that meant skipping a year of competition. She rarely ran that year at all, took Jr. and Sr. English, along with ALL of the other classes required to graduate. She passed all of her standardized tests (calculus being the hard one as it turned out she wasn't using her calculator ad that was considered cheating in Eritrea.), She graduated in 3 years, all the while learning to speak English.
There's nothing "weird" about her entry into the US. The fact that she left her family should tell you everything. She has only seen her mom once in 10 years (last summer) and to my knowledge not seen her brothers at all in person. Most of this is due to the oppressive regime still in charge in Eritrea.
She is amazing. The opposite of what you should think of when you think of one gaming the system. When you think of the old ways of Ellis Island and busting your backside to make your dreams come true, Weini Kelati is the picture of this. On top of it all, you will never meet a more humble, caring and kind person.
Want to read facts- Check out Dave Devine's article on her from 2017 called Weini Kelati's Bell Lap.........Dave does a great job telling the story. There are millions of people gaming the system in our country, but she isn't one of them. The US is a better place having people like her as citizens.
And she did all that while working a part time job and running 80-90mpw. She is hardworking as hell and I find her extremely inspiring.
OK, so lets get this straight "misrepresented facts." All of what I am about to say is easily verifiable and fact.....
She arrived here at 17, legally to run the world championships in oregon. As soon as the World Champs were over, she filed for Asylum. She fled a very oppressive country that was going to force her to join the military on december 1st, when she turned 18. She ran her first season of HS xc as a 17 year old and was classified as a soph. Season two of XC, she was 18 and turned 19 a week before she won the foot locker title. She then had a track season left of eligibility.
As she wanted to do things right and truly be able to live the American dream, she chose to stay in HS to get her diploma, even though that meant skipping a year of competition. She rarely ran that year at all, took Jr. and Sr. English, along with ALL of the other classes required to graduate. She passed all of her standardized tests (calculus being the hard one as it turned out she wasn't using her calculator ad that was considered cheating in Eritrea.), She graduated in 3 years, all the while learning to speak English.
There's nothing "weird" about her entry into the US. The fact that she left her family should tell you everything. She has only seen her mom once in 10 years (last summer) and to my knowledge not seen her brothers at all in person. Most of this is due to the oppressive regime still in charge in Eritrea.
She is amazing. The opposite of what you should think of when you think of one gaming the system. When you think of the old ways of Ellis Island and busting your backside to make your dreams come true, Weini Kelati is the picture of this. On top of it all, you will never meet a more humble, caring and kind person.
Want to read facts- Check out Dave Devine's article on her from 2017 called Weini Kelati's Bell Lap.........Dave does a great job telling the story. There are millions of people gaming the system in our country, but she isn't one of them. The US is a better place having people like her as citizens.
And she did all that while working a part time job and running 80-90mpw. She is hardworking as hell and I find her extremely inspiring.
Worked till 11/midnight and then went home and studied. as tough of a year as it was for her she knew why she had to work so hard
OK, so lets get this straight "misrepresented facts." All of what I am about to say is easily verifiable and fact.....
She arrived here at 17, legally to run the world championships in oregon. As soon as the World Champs were over, she filed for Asylum. She fled a very oppressive country that was going to force her to join the military on december 1st, when she turned 18. She ran her first season of HS xc as a 17 year old and was classified as a soph. Season two of XC, she was 18 and turned 19 a week before she won the foot locker title. She then had a track season left of eligibility.
As she wanted to do things right and truly be able to live the American dream, she chose to stay in HS to get her diploma, even though that meant skipping a year of competition. She rarely ran that year at all, took Jr. and Sr. English, along with ALL of the other classes required to graduate. She passed all of her standardized tests (calculus being the hard one as it turned out she wasn't using her calculator ad that was considered cheating in Eritrea.), She graduated in 3 years, all the while learning to speak English.
There's nothing "weird" about her entry into the US. The fact that she left her family should tell you everything. She has only seen her mom once in 10 years (last summer) and to my knowledge not seen her brothers at all in person. Most of this is due to the oppressive regime still in charge in Eritrea.
She is amazing. The opposite of what you should think of when you think of one gaming the system. When you think of the old ways of Ellis Island and busting your backside to make your dreams come true, Weini Kelati is the picture of this. On top of it all, you will never meet a more humble, caring and kind person.
Want to read facts- Check out Dave Devine's article on her from 2017 called Weini Kelati's Bell Lap.........Dave does a great job telling the story. There are millions of people gaming the system in our country, but she isn't one of them. The US is a better place having people like her as citizens.
I'm proud she is an American, it means we are doing something right if this is the kind of person that can come here and succeed. She represents one of the best parts of America.