Samuel Francis - 9.99/0.9 Asian Record in Amman

[Justin Clouder]

At the Asian Champs:

MEN 100M FINAL
FINAL 26-Jul-07 19:25 Wind=+0.9m/s
RANK LANE NAME BIB DOB AGE COUNTRY PERF.
1 SAMUEL A. FRANCIS 431 27/03/1987 20 QATAR 9.99s AR
2 MASAHIDE UENO 273 10/9/1983 23 JAPAN 10.26s
3 ALWALEED A. ABDULLA 417 5/7/1984 23 QATAR 10.30s
4 WACHARA SONDEE 538 9/4/1983 23 THAILAND 10.36s
5 SIRIROJ DARASURIYONG 535 8/1/1984 22 THAILAND 10.36s
5 UMNRISA SUREHDRA 513 21/05/1981 26 SRILANKA 10.36s
7 HEE NAM LIM 329 29/05/1984 23 KOREA 10.42s
8 YAYHA S.S. AL – GAMES 451 19/02/1986 21 SAUDI ARABIA 10.44s

WOW!

Justin

[spitshina]

Re: Samuel Francis - 9.99/0.9 Asian Record in Amman

Could have been lower with someone to push him!

[Cooter Brown]

10.45 to 9.99. Interesting.

[Justin Clouder]

He did run 10.35 earlier this year, but yeah, that 9.99 is a big drop!

Justin

[Kishan Gill]

Is he a native qatari or another foreign acquisition?.

[Deuce]

Is he a native qatari or another foreign acquisition?.

Acquisition from Nigeria.

[Kishan Gill]

I get the picture.

My argument may open up a whole can of worms as this happens all over the world ,I mean obikwelu holds the european record and now francis the asian. Both nigerians.

It just doesn't seem right. I have always felt uneasy about athletes swapping nationality and another country gaining credit.

I never went along with zola budd running for GB or marty krulee out of frustration hoping to run for finland and I certainly find it unethical qatar buying these top african long distance runners. Maybe it is the athletes fault and not qatars.

I would feel for qatari natives who will have an even lesser chance of representing their country .

Maybe I am an idealist and feel that you should not be a sell out. Misplaced patriotism maybe?

On the other hand, what pride is it for qatar to claim to be a sporting nation on the back of athletes recently acquired from other nations.

The point I am making is that to run for another country, you should have made it your home for a reasonable period of time, maybe five years or more. Not neccessarily picked up the local lingo or customs but made it your home nonetheless as a priority rather than a convenient way to make some money.

[pela2]

marty krulee out of frustration hoping to run for finland

pssst...

it was for Sweden

[Kishan Gill]

I left some gaping holes in my argument. Obikwelu has made portugal his home for some time now and I suppose you can't blame krulees attempt to fulfill his dream of running in the olympics as he had a slim chance in his country such is the depth in sprinting.

Nevertheless I still feel what qatar is doing is not right. Not for it's athletes and not for the statistics. It seems a dubious asian record and that's without even going into the massive improvement francis made which raises even more suspicions.

[Kishan Gill]

Sweden it was. Thankyou for correcting me.

[eldrick]

I get the picture.

My argument may open up a whole can of worms...

we've been thru this here about a dozen+ times ( mjd will post the links )

i suggest you search the archives, before astounding us with a

"new, wonderful insight" into the matter

[Cooter Brown]

Maybe it is the athletes fault and not qatars.

I don't fault the athletes. If you come from a 3rd world country where there is minimal opportunity to succeed outside of sports (which isn't guaranteed), it'd be pretty attractive if someone dangled a "middle class for life" carrot in front of you.

[Kishan Gill]

Beg your pardon eldrick. As you have gathered I haven't been long on this forum and I have definitely not had the time to trawl through past posts.

Merely posting a view on a matter I feel strongly about. I do not claim that it is wonderful or insightful.

I would appreciate you keep your sarcasm to yourself and try to engage like an adult and not a spoiled brat. This forum is not your personal toy!!

[Jacksf]

We had a big, long thread about this last year when some sort of Asian Championships or Games took place.
Basically, I agree with you Mr. Gill.
All the medals (most) in track were won by transfered Africans.
It's ridiculous!
If the 10 fastest guys are all Africans, fine, let them show up at the Olympics, invitationals, and World Championships, but to have them bought and sold to represent Asian countries - that's a joke!

AND...I sitll don't understand why Middle Eastern countries on the Arabian Pennisula are considered part of Asia!

[Jacksf]

p.s. Samuel Francis' time....very hard to believe that kind of massive improvement in a matter of months.