Bekele blasts federation after Rio snub
Print Edition
TRIPLE Olympic gold medal winner Kenenisa Bekele said he was bitterly disappointed to be left out of Ethiopia’s team for the Rio Olympics and blamed members of the country’s athletics federation he said knew nothing about the sport.
“I’m deeply disappointed and sad. I have long overcome my Achilles tendon injury and I was ready for the challenge,” the 34-year-old told French sports daily L’Equipe yesterday.
The 5,000 and 10,000 meters world record holder was left out of the marathon team having not run enough big races over the past year.
“The federation set a criteria they knew very well would rule me out,” he added.
“I finished third in the London Marathon (in April) when I was far from 100 percent fit. I’d done my preparation in full. Everyone knows that London is the toughest marathon except the people from the federation. There is a group there that know nothing about athletics.
“According to their criteria I’m only 7th in the selection list. That they did not consider what I have done for Ethiopian athletics is one thing, but the problem is that they have not considered that my performances have been no worse than those who have been selected.”
Bekele won gold in the 10,000 at the Athens Olympics in 2004, and in the 5,000 and 10,000 in Beijing four years later.
The Ethiopian Athletics Federation has picked 2016 Tokyo Marathon winner Feyisa Lilesa and 2015 Boston champion Lelisa Desisa as well as Lemi Berhanu and Tesfaye Abera for the marathon in Rio.
Ethiopia’s preparation for the Games, which begin on August 5, have been disrupted by concerns over its drug-testing systems, after the IAAF governing body said in March that it was one of five countries that were in “critical care”.
The east African nation, which alongside neighbor Kenya has for many years dominated distance running, subsequently announced that it would carry out doping tests on up to 200 athletes.
The federation last week banned two athletes, Taemo Shumye and Sentayehu Merga, for four years after they tested positive for banned substances.
It said four other athletes remain under investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IAAF for doping.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
