To Some, Winner Is Not American Enough
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Henny Ray Abrams/Associated Press
Meb Keflezighi, the winner of the New York City Marathon, at the Empire State Building on Monday. An American citizen, he immigrated at age 12 from Eritrea.
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As soon as Mebrahtom Keflezighi, better known as Meb, won the New York City Marathon on Sunday, an uncommon sports dispute erupted online, fraught with racial and nationalistic components: Should Keflezighi’s triumph count as an American victory? |
He was widely celebrated as the first American to win the New York race since 1982. Having immigrated to the United States at age 12, he is an American citizen and a product of American distance running programs at the youth, college and professional levels. |
But, some said, because he was born in Eritrea, he is not really an American runner. |
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