𝐀𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐘𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝* “In 2004, Lagat ran 3:27.40 a few weeks before he represented Kenya at the Athens Olympics. Then in 2005, he announced that he had become a US citizen a few months before running that 3:27 and that he was switching his international allegiance, thus forcing him to sit out of that summer’s World Championships. But in 2018 things got weird. Despite 14 years having passed since the performance, Lagat’s 3:27.40 was ratified as the American record. And you can blame Mondo Duplantis for the confusion – seriously. You see, the greatest pole vaulter ever was born in Louisiana, but chose to represent his mother’s native Sweden. Before a relevant height had even been cleared, former American record-holder Jeff Hartwig had sounded the alarm, pointing out that according to USATF bylaws, any American citizen is capable of setting a national record, even if competing for a different country. And as Hartwig...