As seen on Swiminfo today.......so much for citizenship eh?! And we complain about masters "superteams"!
Draganja Changing Allegiances to Qatar
ZAGREB, Croatia, December 7. WHILE South Africa’s Roland Schoeman has spurned an offer to switch his allegiance to Qatar, the same cannot be said for Croatian Duje Draganja. The sprint sensation, a 24-year-old, recently accepted a lucrative offer to swim for the Middle Eastern nation, which has been chasing high-profile athletes by offering significant sums of money.
Before accepting the offer from Qatar, which is believed to be at least $1 million, Draganja gave Croatian swimming officials the opportunity to keep him swimming under his homeland’s flag. Ultimately, though, the Arab nation won out and Draganja is expected to race for Qatar at next year’s World Short Course Championships in Shanghai, China.
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Former Member
Let ALL the foreigners over to the US that want to pay for their own college education and swim for the team of their choice. FACT: There are PLENTY of walk-on spots in EVERY Division I school for good talented athletes. No one will deny them participation if they have the cash to play the game, the natural talent and the brains to pass the entrance exams.
However.......... take ONE dollar from NCAA allotted swimming scholarships at a school and you are effectively funding the success of other country's swimming program at the next Olympics. You are basically stabbing ourselves in the back at the end of every 4 year period.
GONE are the days of the 1960s and 1970s when the US swept the medal counts in every event with 3 qualifiers for the Games. Gone are the days when we win every relay almost every Olympics.
Personally, I want the 400m free relay at the Olympics BACK under US control ! PERIOD ! Forget the "lets all hold hands with other countries relay teams, and train their althetes and sing Kumbaya"
We don't need to be training other country's athletes any more, let alone PAYING their way to a top notch Division I schools. Their countries can do it themselves. We get our asses handed to us in many other events at the olympics. Swimming is a golden nugget for the US and has been for many decades.
Coaches that routinely grab swimmers from other countries without US citizenship are doing a diservice to US kids that work hard for the money and opportunity. Coaches that continue to recruit abroad are LAZY in my opinion and the points they earn at the NCAA championships from these foreign athletes should be ineligible. "N" stands for National..... not international in NCAA.
John Smith
Let ALL the foreigners over to the US that want to pay for their own college education and swim for the team of their choice. FACT: There are PLENTY of walk-on spots in EVERY Division I school for good talented athletes. No one will deny them participation if they have the cash to play the game, the natural talent and the brains to pass the entrance exams.
However.......... take ONE dollar from NCAA allotted swimming scholarships at a school and you are effectively funding the success of other country's swimming program at the next Olympics. You are basically stabbing ourselves in the back at the end of every 4 year period.
GONE are the days of the 1960s and 1970s when the US swept the medal counts in every event with 3 qualifiers for the Games. Gone are the days when we win every relay almost every Olympics.
Personally, I want the 400m free relay at the Olympics BACK under US control ! PERIOD ! Forget the "lets all hold hands with other countries relay teams, and train their althetes and sing Kumbaya"
We don't need to be training other country's athletes any more, let alone PAYING their way to a top notch Division I schools. Their countries can do it themselves. We get our asses handed to us in many other events at the olympics. Swimming is a golden nugget for the US and has been for many decades.
Coaches that routinely grab swimmers from other countries without US citizenship are doing a diservice to US kids that work hard for the money and opportunity. Coaches that continue to recruit abroad are LAZY in my opinion and the points they earn at the NCAA championships from these foreign athletes should be ineligible. "N" stands for National..... not international in NCAA.
John Smith
