Said Saaeef Shaheen formerly Stephen Cherono (born October 15, 1982 in Keiyo, Kenya) is a long distance track athlete now representing Qatar. October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in Leap years). ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Long-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy. ... Athletics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Background

Said Saaeef Shaheen was born and raised in Kenya, showing athletic ability from a young age. He initially made his mark on the international stage with a win at World Youth games in 1999 over the 2000 metre steeplechase. He went on to become the world champion over the 3000 metre steeplechase course in 2003 and again in 2005. The steeplechase was initially a form of horse-racing, but the term is now applied to similar other events as well. ... The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from August 23 to August 31, 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint Denis, Paris, France. ... Helsinki Olympic Stadium at the opening day of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. ...

He currently holds the world record for 3000 metre steeplechase in a time of 7:53:62 set in 2004 in Brussels and is considered the pre-eminent steeplechase athlete in the world. Shaheen possesses a powerful finish and notably defeated rival Ezekiel Kemboi in a dramatic final in 2003. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the headquarters of the European Union, as two of its four main institutions have their headquarters in the... Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi (born May 25, 1982) is a Kenyan athlete, winner of 3000 m steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics. ...

Defection to Qatar

Despite Shaheen's achievements on the track, he is most notable for his defection from Kenya to Qatar in 2003. Changing his name from Stephen Cherono to Saif Saaeed Shaheen, the former Stephen Cherono was reported to have received up to $1 million to change his citizenship. Shaheen has denied this. Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now usually a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ...

The defection was deeply unpopular with the Kenyan Government, President Mwai Kibaki made a public speech before the 2003 World Championships that included the statement "Let us resist the temptation to change our citizenship for financial gains," Mwai Kibaki during an official state visit to the United States Mwai Kibaki (born November 15, 1931) is Kenyas third president, an economist, and a political leader. ...

Sympathy has been expressed for Shaheen's move. The previous holder of the 3000 metre steeplechase world record, Kenyan Moses Kiptanui stating "We have seen a lot of athletes who were running in the 1968 Olympics or 1974 until maybe last year, some of them, they are living in a very, very sparse state. They are very poor despite the fact they have done great things for this country," Moses Kiptanui (born: October 1, 1970 in Marakwet, Kenya) is a middle and long distance athlete mostly famous for 3000  m steeplechase in which he was the number one ranked athlete from 1991 to 1995. ...

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge has also raised concerns about athletes moving between countries, stating that, "What is bad is countries or organizations wanting to buy athletes just for the money". The International Olympic Committee is an organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 to reinstate the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece, and organise this sports event every four years. ... Jacques Rogge (born May 2, 1942) is a Belgian orthopaedic surgeon and has been the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2001. ...

Repercussions

Shaheen himself felt the repercussions of the defection as he was barred from competing in the 2004 Olympic Games. The IOC rule that athletes may not compete in international events for a period of three years subsequent to competing in an international event for a different country. This rule may be waived where the athlete and the governing athletics bodies from the two countries involved are willing to forego the penalty. In the case of Saif Saaeed Shaheen, the Kenyan Athletics Association were not willing to forego the penalty and he was barred from the Olympics. The 3000 metre steeplechase was won by Ezekiel Kemboi.

Shaheen's move has been characterised as being symbolic of the globalisation of athletics. Qatar have since been successful in persuading a number of other athletes, particularly Kenyan athletes, to switch allegiances including 5000 metre athlete Albert Chepkurui. Fellow Gulf State Bahrain has also been successful in persuading athletes to change nationality. Globalization is a term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that are the result of dramatically increased trade and cultural exchange. ...

The case of Stephen Cherono is not the first to see athletes switching nationality, political reasoning such as with Zola Budd or marriage or emigration such as with Wilson Kipketer have previously been seen. However, Said Saaeef Shaheen represents a separate category as there are no apparent motivations for the switch of allegiance beyond the financial motivation. Zola Pieterse, still better known by her maiden name of Zola Budd (born May 26, 1966 in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State in South Africa) is a former Olympic track and field competitor who, within a period of less than three years, twice broke the world record in the womens... Wilson Kipketer (born December 12, 1972 in Kapchemoyiwo, Kenya into the Kalenjin tribe) is a middle distance runner. ...

Achievements

• Current 3000 metre steeplechase world record holder
• World 3000 metre steeplechase champion 2003
• World 3000 metre steeplechase champion 2005
• World Youth 2000 metre steeplechase champion 1999

External links

• IAAF - International Association of Athletics Federations
• IAAF athlete profile
• Voice of America article 2005
• Legal Affairs article 2004