American runners, soldiers find fast-track to citizenship

RIO DE JANEIRO – Two recent Americans, who are also U.S. soldiers, will be representing the United States on Saturday night in the 10,000-meter race.

Leonard Korir and Shadrack Kipchirchir, who will compete against defending gold medalist Mo Farah and fellow American Galen Rupp in the race, were both born in Kenya but ran in college in the United States. Korir studied at Iona and Kipchirchir attended Oklahoma State.

After school they learned that a fast-track to American citizenship was through the United States Army, and by enlisting they could then enter the Army’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). The WCAP is an elite training program for high caliber athletes, and is open for any Army member to join.

It’s not easy getting in, though.

“We have standards that are on our website,” said WCAP track and field coach Dan Browne, an Olympian in the 2004 Athens Games, who is now an active duty major in the Oregon National Guard. “They’re tough standards, but this is a tough sport.”

Browne trains the team in Portland, Oregon, and believes the WCAP program is a “tremendous opportunity” to runners who want to become citizens of the United States.

“First and foremost they wanted to serve in the Army,” said Browne. “This gave them the opportunity to run for America, to run in the Olympic trials, to make the Olympic team, to be here in Rio de Janeiro.”
 
Korir is now a transportation specialist in the U.S. Army, and Kipchirchir is a finance specialist, both on active duty.
 
“Their mission is to make the Olympic team,” said Browne. “But they have additional duties. After these Games they will go and do TSET missions – Total Soldier Enhancement Training – and that’s where they get out into the Army and impart their knowledge and expertise to other soldiers, to help them improve.”
 
Serving in the military allows people born abroad to apply for citizenship immediately, as opposed to the normal five-year waiting period for green-card holders.
 
Since the Army founded the WCAP in 1997, 65 athletes have competed in the Olympic and Paralympic games.

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