From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Sat Nov 07 2009 - 16:16:21 EST
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/07/marathoners-story-is-as-american-as-it-gets/
Nick
Canepa Marathoner's story is as American as it gets
By Nick Canepa
Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 3:13 a.m.
Meb Keflezighi is an American. Period. But not to all. And so the dumbing
down of his adoptive country continues unabated.
My grandparents were born in Italy and immigrated here when they were young.
Worked hard. Paid taxes. That made them, what, as American as pizza pie?
My father-in-law was born in Sicily and came to the United States as a boy.
He joined the Army and served in the South Pacific during World War II. Won
the Bronze Star. Contracted malaria, which plagued him his entire life. Was
that Bronze Star Italian or American-made? Was that some form of Sicilian
malaria?
Select “birthers,” who have taken a short time out from their questioning of
President Barack Obama's citizenship, are saying Keflezighi, who last Sunday
won the prestigious New York Marathon, is a ringer, just another African
runner, who now happens to be competing for America under false colors.
This is patently absurd and, if not racist, certainly borderline. If
Keflezighi had come to San Diego lily white from Sweden instead of Eritrea,
Africa, when he was 12 years old, would there be any complaints? You tell
me. I already know the answer.
Mebrahtom Keflezighi arrived in San Diego as a sixth-grader having never
been a runner in civil-war-torn Eritrea. He attended Roosevelt and Memorial
junior highs and then San Diego High, where, as a senior in 1994, he doubled
as California state mile and two-mile champion. He went on to UCLA, where he
won NCAA titles. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1998, he was the surprise
marathon silver medalist in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
And now, five years after Greece, at 34, he has his greatest triumph on the
world's biggest stage, not to mention $200,000 in prize money. So popular is
Meb that, when he finished the race, pointed with pride to his USA singlet
and kissed the ground, hardened reporters in the media center gave him a
standing ovation.
He was the first American to win the race since Alberto Salazar in 1982.
Salazar was born in Cuba. No Internet then, hence, no complaints.
Nor were there any yesterday morning, when Keflezighi appeared at the Hall
of Champions and was honored by his adoring public. I first interviewed him
while he was a senior at San Diego High. He was a great kid then. Nothing
has changed him as a man.
“I'm a San Diegan. Is San Diego in America?” he was telling me, not
expecting an answer. “I'm just happy to be in a better place. I'm proud to
be a product of it. The United States is a melting pot of different
cultures. To win the race wearing the USA jersey — it gives me great pride
to represent my country.”
Keflezighi's father, Russom, had become a target in Eritrea. He fled the
country, not seeing his family for five years until he brought his wife and
children to San Diego. Everyone in Meb's family is highly educated and
successful. You know. Good Americans.
“We've got to educate people a little bit more,” said San Diego's Bob
Larsen, long one of America's most respected track coaches, who recruited
and mentored Meb at UCLA and remains his coach. “He's been here since he was
a little kid. He went through the entire American system. Yes, he was born
in another country, but he took the bus to school with American kids.
“He couldn't be happier that he's an American. There's only a small group
that is saying these things, but we shouldn't have that much work to do to
show that he's a special guy, that he's an American. He should be rewarded
for that.”
Would this be happening if Keflezighi were white?
“I think there's that aspect,” Larsen said. “But I don't like to point it
out.”
With the possible exception of the American Indian, name me someone in this
country whose roots aren't from someplace else. Birthers should read that
inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty and then hop back on the
tour ship and take the short trip to Ellis Island. This is how America
became America.
“It's a phenomenal story, what this family has accomplished,” Larsen said.
“His dad walked 600 miles through the Sudan (at night, sleeping during the
day, drinking swamp water) to escape, and then worked three jobs in Italy so
he one day could move his family to America.
“Maybe that's why Meb is so good when conditions are bad. Meb is really good
in difficult conditions.”
It was cold and windy last Sunday in New York. Keflezighi, who now trains in
Mammoth, where he owns a home and lives with his wife and two daughters (a
third daughter is on the way), was ideally prepared for the race.
Two years ago, he suffered a fractured hip that kept him from walking. “I
had trouble turning over in bed,” Keflezighi said. But he never stopped
living the dream. If anything, he's better now than he ever was.
“I got the best out of myself,” he said. “I always say, if I can't win, at
least I can get the best out of myself. This was my dream. This was a dream
I had for a long time.”
An American dream. No other way to run around it.
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