Pre-race chaos in Ethiopia camp

By PHILIP ONYANGO and PETER NJENGA, NationMedia.com

The Ethiopian camp almost erupted after the senior men’s team threatened to boycott the championships in protest over a selection row. The technical team dropped Mestawet Tufa, who was second in the Ethiopian trials, when the final women’s team was announced .

Instead, they picked Athaza Kiros who was fifth at the trials. The rest of the team would not hear this, which reminded Kenyans of a similar mutiny in the Kenyan team in 2000.

Tufa grabbed one of the coaches by the neck and a hot arguement ensued at the Mombasa Beach Hotel before the watchful eyes of Kenyan police.

The coaches had no alternative but to give in to the demands of the senior team led by Kenenisa Bekele.

Kiros was eventually dropped in what was a ground breaking achievement for the Ethiopians who are ruled by an iron fist by their governing body.

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Source: NationMedia.com

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