Official Solomon Haile/Semunguse Age Thread

[chrisdiaz16]

December 2007, Washington Post--
Semunguse, 20, has been living with his sister, Naomi, in McLean the past two months (first race in america--hartford half-marathon in oct '07), during which time he has raced repeatedly with the hope of earning a few dollars and more importantly, attracting a manager. Yesterday's race offered no prize money, and Semunguse was further disappointed not to receive a waiver of his entry fee.
accompanying photo--

20 y/o immigrant does some roadraces, can't get money, gets frustrated so what does he do???

get an education!...running his first HS meet as "18-year-old" junior solomon haile in feb 2008 (http://www.flotrack.org/videos/play/48965)

but not before entering a roadrace as a 17-year-old Solomon Semunguse
image and accompanying article, which notes the sudden change in age--
http://www.runwashington.com/news/ja...ary10krpt.html


March 2008, DyeStat coverage of NIN--
In late 2007, Haile moved from his home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to join a small collection of family members already living in the United States. His older sister, Naomi, had to come to America to attend college several years ago, and arranged for Haile and another sister to join her in Virginia last fall.

he has worn that 'pacers' singlet under both names and ages, so that pretty much confirms that it's not different people
and it cannot be argued that he lied about his age to get into races without a guardian's signature because he ran in that one race as a 17-year-old and there's no reason to say 20 instead of 18 if he was doing that. and also his sister would probably have been his legal guardian
works cited
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_re...thread=2537756
and google

i'm not accusing anyone of anything... just presenting the facts... there could very well be a reason why he lied about his age in roadraces and changed the name he goes by
but he was still an aspiring pro, travelling the world doing roadraces, until he gave up and decided to go to highschool

edit: just came across this non-explanation

Runner-up Solomon Haile (18), a rising senior at Sherwood High in Sandy Spring, MD, ran with Awol for three miles before fading. Haile, the record-setting national high school indoor and outdoor 5,000 meter champion as a junior, took second in 24:40. Last winter, Haile, running as Solomon Semungase, age 20, won the Jingle All the Way 10K. But his high school coach, Dan Reeks, said that Haile, who arrived from Ethiopia nearly a year ago, has resolved that identity issue and is headed for a big senior year. "He's legitimate," Reeks said.

and this-

Many competitors and reporters accused Haile of having changed his name from the 20-something Solomon Semungese to his current name, Solomon Haile who is 18-years-old. "In Ethiopia it is tradition to use your father’s first name after your name, so I call myself Solomon Semungese. Semungese is my father’s name." Under this tradition, Solomon had registered for an outside race at active.com as Solomon Semungese but later dropped his father’s name for his last name, Haile. In regard to the age mix-up, Haile explains that, "Everything is so different in Ethiopia. We have our own alphabets and calendars; it’s so different than other countries, so I make some mistakes. It’s 2000 in Ethiopia, not 2008."

but this would make it seem like his age would be 8 years off, not 2
edit: i just did some googling on ethiopian naming, and they don't have last names. you have a first name that is given to you by your parents, and your surname/family name is your father's first name. i read this on multiple sites. i don't know where he could have come up with haile as being his "last name" when he started highschool and became 3 years younger

[a1k]

http://sc.milesplit.us/forums/SC/topics/49774

[tmfcmike]

STRONG DYE DETECTIVE

[Slow Runner]

I do not want to race him, out of lack of respect.

[CHUCK Palahniuk]

You shall know the truth
and the truth shall set you FREE

[10mexicans]

The only ones who know his age are him and his parents
and obviously he is never going to tell.

Too bad humans arent like trees...
Just cut him open and count his rings.

[svc]

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_re...2537756&page=0

[king99]

I hate to say this, but there looks like a TON of smoke surrounding the possibility of the 20 when he wants to be Road racer and the 18 years and 9 months guy who just set CR, could be the same guy.

I am reading documentation for newpaper articles and race results and if it is the same guy, something does not look right.

[chrisdiaz16]

Originally Posted by king99

I hate to say this, but there looks like a TON of smoke surrounding the possibility of the 20 when he wants to be Road racer and the 18 years and 9 months guy who just set CR, could be the same guy.

I am reading documentation for newpaper articles and race results and if it is the same guy, something does not look right.

the highschool version of this guy has admitted that he is the 20 y/o roadracer (did you read the original post?). the question is just which time he was wrong/lying

[sparrowcoach]

In a stunning turn of events, China has announced that Solomon Haile will be competing for them in the 2009 Gymnastics World Championships.