Unlike recent years, the late 1970's was a time of tumult across the greater middle east & south central Asia. Religious wars, famine, oil rationing, pestilence, & unending cricket matches left much of what we refer to today as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in dire straits. Being born into such chaos may have seemed punishment enough for any innocent newborn but to then be born with a rare and debilitating deformity: it just may have been the ultimate insult. Unbeknownst to many DRD athletes and fans, it was just this predicament into which 1999 Chalice winner John Khan arrived in this World.
Now a full fledged, flag-waiving U.S.-American, John was born in Lahore, Pakistan in early September of 1978 (although due to poor record keeping the actual date is not available. So it is perfectly acceptable to wish him "Happy Birthday" anytime between the 1st and 15th of that month - like I do). The doctors at Lahore General Hospital & his parents were unaware at the time , but several weeks after giving birth, his mother received official birth record documentation from the Moroccan government claiming that, even though his parents had never lived in or even been to the country, John's legs were in fact citizens of the Kingdom of Morocco.
John Khan (right) celebrates his 37th birthday this weekNaturally the doctors were perplexed by this rare deformity, now known as "Moroccan Legs" but upon further investigation it was discovered that there have been two other documented cases of dual citizen appendages:
1. Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović's nose claims full rights as an Israeli citizen.
2. Benito Mussolini's cousin Franco Bellini's first wife Sophia was said to have had Irish eyes.
* Also note: in the animal kingdom this rare English swan's Bjork is Icelandic
Despite the poor fortune of his youth, after immigrating to the United States John Khan & his Moroccan legs would later make a big splash on the Upstate New York high-school distance running scene, and later would make an equally huge impact on Liberty University's "turn of the century" distance running squad. But for the better part of his life John was very guarded about his leg's immigration status & nationality. In 1997 that all changed. For reasons that are still to this day unclear, John's legs were "outted" by a former Dallas Cowboy during a routine dorm viewing of Saturday Night Live...
1. Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović's nose claims full rights as an Israeli citizen.
2. Benito Mussolini's cousin Franco Bellini's first wife Sophia was said to have had Irish eyes.
* Also note: in the animal kingdom this rare English swan's Bjork is Icelandic
Despite the poor fortune of his youth, after immigrating to the United States John Khan & his Moroccan legs would later make a big splash on the Upstate New York high-school distance running scene, and later would make an equally huge impact on Liberty University's "turn of the century" distance running squad. But for the better part of his life John was very guarded about his leg's immigration status & nationality. In 1997 that all changed. For reasons that are still to this day unclear, John's legs were "outted" by a former Dallas Cowboy during a routine dorm viewing of Saturday Night Live...
Michael Irving Beckner (pictured above) outted John's legs in 1997Initially stunned & unsure of public reaction to, what in the late 1990's amounted to a potentially career ending disclosure (you have to remember - this was before Monica Lewinsky), John & his legs decided that all they could do was take things in stride and have a firm stance (both puns that were most certainly intended) And that's what they did...
Instead of hiding John & his 'Moroccan legs' held a series of evangelistic-style meetings throughout the Southeast portion of the USA to raise awareness of & help fight 'Dual Citizen Appendage syndrome'.
Following that tour, John & legs returned to Liberty University where they studied Corporate Finance, Accounting, & French, graduated Cum Laud & as if that weren't enough, as their crowning achievement, together, in 1999 (with the help of some funny math) they were able to earn one of the most sought after & cherished prizes in all of distance runner decathlondom - a DRD Chalice of Victory.
John Khan's legs: a true profile in courage!
4 comments:
That's so not cool guys. I'm taking my CD's and going for a drive.
I knew John back in college and I remember it occurring to me that if John were a chicken I might have the throw away the breasts & the wings but the those thighs and those legs would be some of the tastiest dark meat that I ever did have! MMM MMMM MMMMM!
Those legs must be tired, cause they've been running thru my mind for the last 10 years. "Who's that pakistani with junk in his trunk"
hmmhmmm yes Colonel Sanders, I recall that you remarked to me several times back 'round the turn of the century how you thought that that colored boy would make a fine fried chicken. I do declare you were right back then and you would be just as right this very day.
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