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Ethiopia Running የኢትዮጵያ ሩጫ The Art and the Tradition of Ethiopian Runners
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Ethiopia Another Instance Of National Governing Body Dysfunction - Spiked Up, Pysched Up - A Track and Field blog
Kenenisa Bekele in the Ethiopian singlet (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)
This past week saw a strange and somewhat comical scenario play out in one of the world’s preeminent track powers.
Ethiopia, somewhat reeling from a disappointing team performance at the World Championships in Daegu, suspended indefinitely 35 of its finest athletes for not showing at a scheduled training camp.
The suspension included gold medalists and word record holders Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele both whom have undergone scrutiny both at home and aborad recently due to injuries.
The initial shock of this announcement created a firestorm akin to the possibility of an entire season lockout of the NBA. Also similar to the NBA was a fiery call by its perennial champion Bekele to ask to compete for a new country, in a manner reminiscent to Kobe Bryant’s offer to play overseas during the presumed lockout. His agent Jos Hermans reported that Bekele was so frustrated and insulted by the sporting council’s ruling that he sought to change his nationality to compete for another country.
Possibly seeing the handwriting on the wall that they may have done more harm than good, the sporting council rescinded the ban after pledges from the suspended athletes to report to future camps. Unknown whether it was the prospect of alienating its best athletes, the chance that national hero Bekele may take a walk to an Arab fiefdom for a new home to compete for, or satisfaction with the apologies and promises of compliance with their rulings, the Ethiopian Track Federation changed its mind in under a week.
While stating that it was an injury that kept him reporting to the camp and his agent Hermans stating that veteran athletes like Bekele are not in need of such guidance as say that of a younger athlete, this shows a fissure common among many national squads.
Whether it is the U.S. having to decide if Mike Rodgers should run following a positive test for performance enhancers, British officials saying they need to dig deeper despite an above average showing in Daegu or Kenya not having a clear cut method to selecting its deep marathon squad,all nations appear to suffer from a dysfunction in how it handles its finest track and field athletes.
Unlike other sports where media coverage and insights are made by hoards of analysts about how to fix these situations, track and field is on its own. Maybe that’s for the best.
However I find it discomforting that a nation bestowed with such a rich history of running glory in Ethiopia could possibly ban a man who has draped himself in his nation’s flag in victory repeatedly, being given a ban over such a minor infraction.
Running has served as a beacon of light for a nation that has been blighted with war, famine and drought. Ethiopia’s athletic tradition must not be besmirched by such trivial disputes.
For its sake and for the advancement of athletic success worldwide, we can only hope that the breach in trust between its competitors and its governing body can find harmony.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Ethiopia clears Olympic champion Bekele, 34 others – USATODAY.com
BRUSSELS – The suspension of Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele and 34 others was lifted Tuesday, clearing the way for the Ethiopian great to run at the London Games.
By Yves Logghe, AP
In this Sept. 16, 2011 file photo, Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele wins the 10,000 meters during the Memorial Van Damme Diamond League meeting at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels.
Ethiopian Athletics Federation President Bisrat Gashawten Tirfe told The Associated Press by telephone that "we have agreed to discuss all the matters concerning their problems." The athletes were suspended last week for not reporting to camp.
Bekele won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Beijing Olympics and holds the world record in both events. He was suspended along with Tirunesh Dibaba, winner of the two long-distance women's titles in Beijing. The suspension would have prevented them from running at this year's Olympics.
Bekele's agent, Jos Hermens, said his client had been extremely angry about the suspension and even inquired about changing nationality.
An official announcement was expected from Addis Ababa later Tuesday, but Tirfe said the suspension has been lifted.
"Yes, for everybody. … for all 35," Tirfe said.
The decision allows the suspended marathon runners to compete in next Sunday's race in Dubai.
The crisis started last Thursday when the federation wrote in an email that it "has decided any international competition including Dubai Marathon is closed from January 20, 2012 until end of the (Olympic) event on August 2012" for the 35 athletes who did not attend the camp early this month.
The group also included Dibaba's husband, Sileshi Sihine, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000.
The federation had set up a training camp for all leading athletes early this month to improve preparation for London after an abysmal showing at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, last August.
Kenya won seven gold medals at the worlds compared to only one for Ethiopia. Kenya was third in the overall medals tables with 17, while Ethiopia was ninth with only five.
Bekele has struggled for most of the past two years with injuries and dropped out of the 10,000 in Daegu.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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