Ethiopian XC team announced without Bekele - for now!
Bekele - Will he be there?
After last years’ clean sweep of the titles Ethiopia has once again selected a squad full of quality for the forthcoming World Cross Country Championships. But the question remains – after his injury and subsequent low profile, will Kenenisa Bekele be there? The Kenyans aren’t so sure...
Speaking to The Standard in Nairobi, Kenyan star Leonard Komon states:
We cannot say that he (Bekele) is not going to run in Amman. It could just be a trick they are using to confuse us before springing a surprise on us. We are training as if he will be present. It seems every time the World Cross is near, Bekele is injured only for him to return to win. This time, we are working and focused to be equal to anyone, whether he is there or not
Team manager Julius Kirwa agrees:
We know what they are saying about their top runners and this is motivating us to train harder because they are up to their usual tricks. We cannot say we train for Bekele and his countrymen. We are focusing to face everybody who will start in Amman.
Kirwa - not convinced
Ethiopia selects strong team of 24 for Amman
While the squad list is provisional with an actual starting line-up still to be decided closer to the championships it is now pretty certain that a slow recovery from a leg injury will rule out reigning men’s champion Kenenisa Bekele, while women’s champion Tirunesh Dibaba in an exclusive interview with the IAAF website has confirmed 100% she will miss Amman also due to injury.
