The Ethiopian squad competing in this weekend's World Cross Country Championships at Leopardstown today complained of the problems it faced in securing visas to enter the country.
Ethiopia's head coach Woldemeskel Kostre - the man who discovered the talent of multiple world record holder Haile Gebrselassie - complained that the Irish embassy in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa had dragged its heals over providing the full compliment of visas for its squad.
"The Irish embassy provided the visas in groups of four or five but we needed 40. There are still six athletes stranded in Addis Ababa - four women and two men - and we are hoping that they will make it here in time to compete, but I don't know for sure," Woldemeskel said today.
Woldemeskel added that the runners were members of their junior men's and women's teams.
"We sent Ethiopian federation officials to beg them to provide the visas but it didn't seem to be any use.
"If the runners do arrive, they are likely to be too tired to perform at their best. It has severely affected our chances," commented Woldemeskel.
Earlier in the week, there were fears that visa delays for members of the Kenyan team would mean that several of their team would have to be left behind, but last minute clearances meant that all the Kenyan team eventually arrived in Dublin, albeit in small groups.
Kenya has collected 83 gold medals at the World Cross Country Championships, including six last year.
Athletics Ireland president Nick Davis had little to say in response to the problem.
"We all know that the international security situation has changed dramatically since September 11th, but we need a much smoother system in place for sports events in the future," admitted Davis.
Despite the problems of getting to Dublin, Ethiopia and Kenya are expected to be the main recipients of the medals at the two day event on Saturday and Sunday.
An estimated 700 runners from 62 countries are expected to compete, immigration formalities permitting.
Davis said that the event had a budget of €2.1 million and needed 20,000 spectators over the weekend to break even.
AFP