Hi, dear class mated! This article is written by Tom Bergeron who is a Rivals High Senior Editor about the high school student, runner, who was about to make a record, but was stopped due to bad weather condition. The author starts the article by saying “Talk about being stopped in your tracks ...” which says at all. Who would like to be stopped when you are on your way to make a record about anything, whether it is running or something else, and whether it is high school record or professional record. The author says Joe Rosa is one of the top high school distance runners in the country. Tom states that Joe appeared to be on his way to breaking the New Jersey state record in the 3,200-meter run with a time worthy of being on the all-time national list when he was literally forced off the track by meet officials with one lap to go due to weather concerns. According to the article Joe was preparing for his last lap when officials with the New Jersey Interscholastic State Athletic Association stopped him due to the lightning detected in the area, which was Old Bridge, NJ. The author says that “NJSIAA officials made it clear: Rules dictate all events are halted and the competitors and fans must immediately leave the area if lightning is detected.”
According to the article, the decision did not sit well with Rosa, his family, his couches and other who questioned why they couldn’t run one more lap – or why the race was allowed to start in the first place. Obviously they were not happy, who would be! According to the news his twin brother, Jim, was second in the race. Jim said, “I guess it's a rule, but we had one lap to go," he believed they should have been able to just finish it. I understand his point of view that one more lap they would have been fine. In any case what if they went for a last lap and something bad happen, then the record would not be important than that. Regardless of everyone who was unhappy and stunned that race was stopped or it got started in first place, it is not possible to predict what nature will do next. The author says that the father of the twins was stunned and said, "I guess it's a rule, but we had one lap to go," Jim Rosa said. "We should have been able to just finish it."
Further more Tom stated that “Kristin Kline, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Mt. Holly, N.J., just a few miles from where the meet was taking place, said the NJSIAA did the right thing.” I believe she was right for this matter. There is no way to predict anything, so when it comes to making a decision between allowing a person to make a world record or stop the race to save lives, I would say save a life.
Link to the article: http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1230222
