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Bekele changes mind over competing

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LONDON, England -- Five-times double champion Kenenisa Bekele has changed his mind about competing at the world cross country championships later this month and has been added to the Ethiopian team.

Bekele indicated last year he would not run at another world cross country championships after completing a historic 4km and 12 km race double for a fifth time in Fukuoka, Japan.

"Fellow athletes told me to compete in Mombasa," said Bekele. "Fans asked me to reconsider my decision and also the Ethiopian federation and the Ethiopian government have checked my interest over and over.

"Next to the fact that the event will be hosted in Africa, on the home soil of my friends and rivals from Kenya, I also realised that I can become the first athlete in history to win six consecutive 12km titles," added Bekele, world record holder on the track for the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

The 4km has been dropped from this year's event, which takes place on March 24.

Women's world short course champion Gelete Burka was also added to the Ethiopian team after missing the trials because of an ankle injury.

Dope cheats to get additional ban

Meanwhile, European Athletics (EA) have ruled that athletes found guilty of major doping offences will be ineligible to compete in European championships for a minimum of two years after their suspension ends.

The decision to change the competition entry regulations was announced on Wednesday after the European Athletics council meeting in Birmingham, England.

"The Council has unanimously decided that competing in our championships represents a special privilege and that we must not allow the negative notoriety of the small number of athletes who cheat to spoil the experience or distract attention from those who follow the rules," said EA president Hansjoerg Wirz.

"Our message is very clear and we will do what it takes to ensure the credibility of the sport and protect the health of athletes and young people" added Wirz.

EA plan to put the proposal to August's International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) congress in Osaka, Japan where the world championships are to be held.

"IAAF president Lamine Diack and general secretary Pierre Weiss were both at the council meeting and were confident it would be passed at their level," said EA spokesman Pierce O'Callaghan.

The extra suspension is to begin on the day an athlete is cleared to compete by the IAAF after a doping ban. However, those athletes will still be able to part in international invitational or national level competitions.

Under the new rule, Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou would not have been allowed to compete at last weekend's European indoor championships in Birmingham, having served a two-year suspension for doping violations, which ended in December.

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