LAGAT!! WHAT A DUDE!!

[einnod23]

nm

[kamikaze7]

Lagat is a great guy, clean all the way. But I think that USATF and USOC should consider not allowing athletes who have already represented other nations from running for team USA. Several reasons:

1. T&F is losing its international appeal due to mass defections. What makes T&F appealing is the international appeal and the prospect of one of your atthletes taking a lap of honor wrapped in your flag. But if it is perceived as a boought athlete, the appeal is lost to many. I have always said Bahrain and Qatar are killing T&F. Now USA has joined them.

2. USATF and USOC should pride itself in scouting homegrown athletes and grooming them into world class runners not in being able to recruit the worlds best runners the way silicon valley recruits the worlds best computer scientists.

3. The American scholarship system should be seen as a method to raise the standard of American runners by exposing them to top class competition, while giving them a free education, not a tool to recruit athletes from other nationalties who may eventually foresake their home nations and defect to America. Yet at this rate, this is what it will become. Athletes will now see scholarships as a way to defect.

4. America already has a dozens of potential world class athletes unlike Baharain & Qatar. USATF and USOC should dig deep and find ways of convincing the next Jim Ryun to foresake his Xbox and give olympic glory a shot.

America is the wealthiest nation on earth and should not be in the business of
enriching its portfiolio at the expense of poorer nations.

Its one thing for a refugee like Abdi who never ran for Somalia to run in USA colors. But watching a person run for one flag now then a different flag next time kind of deflates the spirit of international competition, which is what makes T&F the most popular sport at the olympics. Its now becoming akin to a mercenary competition. Back in the 80s when Liverpool won the European cup, many Brits who are not Liverpool fans could genuinely take pride. Now if Chelsea were to win with a team that has 10 foreigners..........................

This could be the start of a trend. By the time we have Chicago 2016, every single distance contender for the USA could be a foreigner. And wherever USA is lacking in the throws or the jumps , it could be filled by an Eastern European. The gaps in the sprints will be filled by Nigerians disgruntled at the shabby treatment from their Federation. Eventually, homegrown Americans, unable to compete will toss in the towel. And America will win 20 gold medals at Mombasa 2017 WC 8) while the next team in line will have won 3 gold. Is this the team you are looking forward to rooting for ?

[George P.]

he's a kenyan

i'm claiming that one as a kenyan win

Eldrick, you can be a real d*ckh**d (you know the word) when you put your mind to it.

It's strange that all the Americans were going mad over Webb for the last couple of months, stating he was the great American hope of middle distance, with hardly a mention of Lagat ...

Prior to Osaka, Webb appeared to the casual fan (and even some who are not so casual) to be having a much stronger season than Lagat. We now know, at least some of us, that Webb shot his bolt on the tracks in Belgium, or wherever. By Osaka, he was ready for a "recovery phase" which, of course, was not to be.

[Justin Clouder]

1. T&F is losing its international appeal due to mass defections.

Could you provide some evidence for this please?

Justin

[Justin Clouder]

Back in the 80s when Liverpool won the European cup, many Brits who are not Liverpool fans could genuinely take pride.

That'll be the Liverpool team who consistently fielded a majority of Welsh, Irish and Scots? Liverpool were actually the first English club to field a team containing no English players at all.

Justin

[eldrick]

he's a kenyan

i'm claiming that one as a kenyan win

Eldrick, you can be a real d*ckh**d (you know the word) when you put your mind to it

since he became american he's become 3s slower over 1500, but ended up with 2 titles ?!

i suppose all the kenyans will now have to make a decision : "become american & you'll end up running a helluva lot slower, but you may win something !"

[Daisy]

By the way wasn't he already a US citizen in '04 when he got the silver?

Wasnt following the situation closely back then, but I think he earned his citizenship sometime back then, but the kenyan federation would not waive the 3-year waiting period that prevented Bernard to compete for the USA internationally!!

He was an American citizen before 04 olympics, however, he wisely guessed that Kenya would not allow him to compete (I don't think US or Kenya athletics officials knew of his US citizenship).

This makes sense since you don't get many shots at the Olympics and I'm sure he did not want to be be like Kipketer in 96. And thankfully we were not deprived of that fantastic race betwen ElG and Lagat.

It's strange that all the Americans were going mad over Webb for the last couple of months, stating he was the great American hope of middle distance, with hardly a mention of Lagat

I don't find this so strange since Lagat did not show many of his cards in the early season (or may have been injued, I had not heard of this intestinal problem before ths thread). However, after the London GP it was clear he was starting to show championship form and this was not ignored.

Experience means a lot and [Lagat] certainly seemed to have more speed than his other races. I guess he will only get better as we get closer to Osaka. from London GP TFN thread

[CrunchTime]

he's a kenyan

i'm claiming that one as a kenyan win

Wow...what a unique, cutting edge intellectual!!

This guy is "an independent thinker!!

He really marches to the beat of a "different drummer!!

Have you ever heard the age-old saying? "I'm not insane..it's everyone else who's insane...I'm normal!! :lol:

Every sane person in the world acknowledges that when a person goes through the naturalization process to become a citizen they then become a member of the country they have adopted!! :idea:

Who really cares what pompous, self-serving fools think?!? Especially when they are the type who only do it to draw attention to themselves!! ops:

[CrunchTime]

he's a kenyan

i'm claiming that one as a kenyan win

Eldrick, you can be a real d*ckh**d (you know the word) when you put your mind to it

since he became american he's become 3s slower over 1500, but ended up with 2 titles ?!

i suppose all the kenyans will now have to make a decision : "become american & you'll end up running a helluva lot slower, but you may win something !"

Maybe it had something to do with improving his racing strategy...much like an aging boxer who is able to use his vast experience to add little strategic moves to his arsenal...e.g. Larry Holmes, Bernard Hopkins, etc!!

Only difference is that boxing IS a subjectively judged sport so guys actually DO receive hometown decisions based on where they are from, etc!! :lol:

[kamikaze7]

That'll be the Liverpool team who consistently fielded a majority of Welsh, Irish and Scots? Liverpool were actually the first English club to field a team containing no English players at all.

Arent the Welsh and the Scots British ? And does/nt Liverpool have fans among the Welsh and the Scottish ?

Could you provide some evidence for this please?

I dont need to. This is my personal opinion based on the fact that many people I talk to nowadays have no interest. There was a time when everyone knew ben Jonhson & Carl Lewis. Nowadays I ask people about Wariner Gay et al and they stare blankly at me. Interest in T&F among the American public is surely waning and I dont think further defections will help.

Besides I am not that keen on sideshow debates. I am more keen on discussing the issue of defections.

[Daisy]

That'll be the Liverpool team who consistently fielded a majority of Welsh, Irish and Scots? Liverpool were actually the first English club to field a team containing no English players at all.

\
Arent the Welsh and the Scots British ? And does/nt Liverpool have fans among the Welsh and the Scottish ?

While you are correct, the problem is that the English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland all field different national teams and therefore FIFA view them as independant countries with regards to the term foreigner. When UEFA had a rule of only three foreigners per team for the champions league it really hurt Liverpool since they had to remove as many as seven first team players from the line up to bring in English players.

[kamikaze7]

Daisy I know that England and Wales and Scotland are different teams. Which is why I mentioned Britain and not England. There are Liverpool fans in Scotland, Ireland and Wales...right ?