Kenenisa Bekele, the three-time Olympic champion on the track and second fastest marathoner of all time, Wednesday warned that he will run at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic as an individual candidate representing the World Olympic Flag if the Ethiopian Athletics Federation excludes him from its marathon team travelling to the far east nation.
His exclusion from the Ethiopian marathon team to Tokyo came after refusal to compete in Ethiopian Olympic marathon trials, which were held in Sebeta town, 15 miles outside the capital, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia would select its marathon team based on who had the fastest times during the qualifying window this time the Olympic marathon trials in Sebeta town.
“It is wrong for the athletics federation to select best performing athletes based on local competition,” Kenenisa argued.
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MG/as/APA