Ethiopia distances itself from Aden, arrested for doping

• AFRICA
• Friday 24 June 2016 - 9:05pm

Jama Aden has been arrested in Spain for doping. He coaches Ethiopian 1,500 metres world record holder Genzebe Dibaba. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's governing body for athletics has sought to distance itself from Jama Aden, the coach of Ethiopian 1,500 metres world record holder Genzebe Dibaba, after his arrest in Spain on doping charges.

The Somali trainer was detained by police this week following months ofinvestigations prompted by a tip-off from the Spanish Agency of Health and Sport (AEPSAD).

The 25 year-old Genzebe - sister of triple Olympic distance champion Tirunesh Dibaba and Olympic silver medallist Ejegayehu Dibaba - is hot favourite to win the 1,500m at this year's Rio Olympics.

"While the individual trained an Ethiopian athlete, he neither has the endorsement nor any working arrangement with the (Ethiopian Athletics) Federation," the body said in a statement on Friday.

Ethiopia has come under scrutiny after the IAAF said it was one of five countries that were in "critical care" over their drug-testing systems.

The Horn of Africa country, which along with neighbour Kenya has for years dominated distance running on the track and the roads, subsequently announced that it would carry out doping tests on up to 200 athletes.

Ethiopia: Genzebe Dibaba’s coach arrested in doping raid

BARCELONA (HAN) June 20.2016. Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News. The coach of World 1500m champion Genzebe Dibaba and other long-distance runners was arrested near Barcelona after Spanish police raided his hotel room and found traces of EPO and other banned substances on Monday.

Jama Aden, a Somalian, was detained along with one of his unnamed trainers from Morocco, as the IAAF tested 30 athletes who were also guests at the Sabadell hotel, about 25 kilometers from Barcelona, where the coach has established annual training camps since 2013.

Police confirmed Aden and his trainer were under arrest on charges of administering and distributing doping substances and endangering public health. After questioning by law enforcement, both detainees should face prosecution within 72 hours.

Local authorities did not expect further arrests to follow.

The athletes, including Dibaba, at the raided hotel were mainly from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia or Djibouti.

Dibaba is a heavy favorite to win the Olympic women’s 1500m in Rio de Janeiro.

A simultaneous police raid in Madrid also yielded 16 arrests related to the trafficking of drugs and anabolic steroids.

Despite coinciding in time, law enforcement officers stressed there was no connection between the Sabadell operation and the bust in the Spanish capital, mainly linked to the bodybuilding underground market for steroid users.

Gebrselassie, other athletes protest at Ethiopia federation :: WRALSportsFan.com

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By ELIAS MESERET, Associated Press

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — Distance running great Haile Gebrselassie was part of a group of athletes who protested against the Ethiopian track federation on Tuesday.

The athletes were protesting the federation's selection process for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Gebrselassie was part of a group of more than 100 athletes who gathered outside the National Stadium in Addis Ababa.

Gebrselassie told The Associated Press that the federation was "marred with incompetency." He was protesting against, among other things, the exclusion of Kenenisa Bekele from the marathon team for the games.

Bekele, the 5,000 and 10,000 meters world-record holder, was also present. Both he and Gebrselassie addressed the athletes.

A number of other athletes have complained about their exclusion from Ethiopia's Olympic team, claiming that the selection process is unfair.