gh wrote:
> Brian McEwen writes:
>>Tell me that you believe a 16 year old can run 8:19 or 27:43 (as the
records would have you believe) and I will shut >> up.
>No, i don't believe it. But then, I don't believe anybody of any age can
run 12:39 or 26:22 either!
>
> How do you think the rest of the world feels about Obea Moore's 45.14 at
age 16? I don't believe that one either!
>
> gh
I'll take that a step farther - anyone who saw Obea Moore at the Olympic
Trials in Atlanta would certainly not have believed he was 16, and I don't
just mean his performance. He looked far more physically mature than I could
ever hope to, no matter how many gray hairs I get. So comments about how old
some East Africans look are not necessarily very relevant either.
Look at what Brendan Christian did in 2000 as a high school sophomore. That
would have put him in the Olympics from most countries, and been knocking on
the door of the finals. That - somewhere just above or below 10th place - is
the same kind of finish someone with a 8:19 or a 27:43 PR could expect at
the world level if they ran well.
Are the world junior records legit? Maybe not. Is there any chance the true
WJR is not held by a Kenyan or Ethiopian? Probably not. Given how big the
gap is between them and the best from real birth certificate countries, and
how dominant they are in competitions where it doesn't matter how old they
are, I would expect their juniors to be a lot better than everyone else's.
david honea
