rekrunner wrote:
"age cheating" is not an anti-doping rule violation, and it is not a criteria in Diamond League events. It is yet another red-herring.
It looks like another "inflated issue" that anti-fans of the sport use to unwittingly help destroy the sport.
Or maybe it is just a proxy for racism.
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There is a clue in the term, "age CHEATING". No, it isn't the same as doping, but it is still cheating, and everyone who cares about the sport should want those who cheat by giving a false age to be banned. Think about it!
A 23 year old manages to convince the authorities he is 17 or 18. He goes to the Junior Worlds, wins a medal and beats genuine 17 and 18 year olds. The 'cheat' gets invited to lucrative meets, gets a sponsorship deal with a big show company, and a place at a top college in the States. Of the rest of the field beaten by the age cheat, 3 give up on the sport the following year, struggling with maintaining dedication and struggling to pay for the necessary essentials needed to maintain full time training to reach the top in the senior ranks. Age cheats deny innocent, hard working youngsters from their rightful medals and moment of glory, just like dopers do the same to their peers.
Barega is supposed to be 18. He's just set the World 18 year old record for 5000m at 12:43. Some on here, and I've read on other message boards too, that he is known to be 23/24. I wouldn't believe that without more evidence, but in abstract terms, if he isn't 18, then his record is a sham. Think what other 18 year olds busting a gut to run 13:20 are now feeling, knowing that an apparent peer is running 37 seconds, almost 3 secs per lap, faster! I wouldn't blame them if they just gave up.