I
was reading about Lagat because Juan Luis Barrios went to train with him. I wanted to know the reason why he went there
and I got a pleasant surprise. Juan Luis
Barrios is one of the two or three non-African that can stay with the “pack;”
he was eighth in London Olympics running the 5k. Unfortunately, the Mexicans have very little
respect for the Barrios; the other one was Arturo Barrios who had the last
non-African World Record for the 10,000k.
They are examples of great athletes practicing against the odds.
He has only to close his eyes to know where the need is greatest.
"When you think about how best to give back," he says, "you
think of the need for education. Education made me me, it made you you, able to
do everything we do. I can't plant coffee or maize for everybody, but if I can
educate one child, it changes lives." His foundation selects high school
students in Kenya to receive scholarships and other financial assistance.
"These kids are so smart and so poor. A lot of them owe school fees. The
headmasters love them, so they let them stay in class and let the fees
accumulate, so I pay their debts. I use some of my appearance fees and prize
money. I get so many e-mails, the gratitude is...I know it helps a lot."
Lagat has been on course all these years to become the very model of a
village elder. "Kids!" he yells every so often, accepting the role.
"My heart is kids!"
We
give the same support in Mexico to members in our team, except that very few of them really want to get someplace. They want to have fun the way the regular
Mexican does. We do not get training as a
warrior, and our concept of life is very “soft.” “To make a man who can run a hundred miles on a bowl of ugali and a spurt
of cow's blood, the Nandi employed powerful means. The most potent was ritual
circumcision. To come of age in much of East and South Africa, a boy between 12
and 20 must command himself to remain stoic while his foreskin is ceremonially
cut away. "The boy's face is carefully watched by the surrounding crowd of
warriors and old men to see whether he blinks or makes a sign of pain,"
Manners relates. "Should he in any way betray his feelings, he is dubbed a
coward and receives the name kipitet." This is such a disgrace he may
never be allowed to marry and set up his own household.”
It
is difficult to believe what it is needed from what we read in this article. Perhaps it is easy to believe what we read, but very difficult to accept what we need to do. No wonder why the Africans win almost all of
the middle and long distance races; they are warriors well prepared. Swimming and triathlon are another matter;
you need a very good education and a supportive environment including a very sophisticated
infrastructure. That is the main reason
why Africans are not present in swimming competitions. Otherwise they would be kicking the butt.
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