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Ethiopia's ten-time world cross-country champion has decided to go to Mombasa after ruling it out for the past 12 months
Multiple world cross-country champion Kenenisa Bekele today announced he wants to compete in the World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya, on March 24.
The Olympic 10,000m champion had insisted straight after winning his fifth consecutive long and short-course double in last year's event that it was no longer challenging enough - and he reiterated in January at the Great North Cross Country in Edinburgh that he would not try to win a record sixth consecutive 12km title.
However, Bekele's management team said today he had changed his mind in the light of his indoor performances this winter. A place had been left open for Bekele in the Ethiopian team, which was released last week.
Bekele said in a statement issued today: "After running a 2000m world indoor record in Birmingham on February 17 and a world-leading time of 7:30.51 for 3000m in Stockholm on February 20, I started to doubt my decision. I knew that I was in great shape. Fellow athletes told me to compete in Mombasa. 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 this, I also really enjoyed competing at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in the past. I realised that I started to look for a challenge, for a reason to compete. 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. This would be great for me, for Ethiopia, for Africa and for the sport of athletics."
Bekele's sudden change of mind will raise eyebrows after he implied in January he would only run if he was paid appearance money.
When quizzed in Edinburgh in January about whether he would run, he said: "If there is something special, I may run. If there's a special challenge, specially for the world champion man. I won many years, the world cross. It's the same every time and there's nothing special.
"Maybe the organisation, the IAAF, they should put up something special for the world champion man? Yes? If I lose this race, for me, it is a big thing.
Asked whether he was referring to an appearance fee, he replied: "Yes. They could pay a bonus for me to a run."
No appearance fees are offered at IAAF championship events, although at the World Cross there are top prizes of $30,000 for the individual winners and $20,000 for the winning teams.
His manager, Jos Hermens, said today: "After Kenenisa’s great performances on the indoor track, he started to talk about competing at the World Cross Country Championships. He was still hesitant, but looking for support from me to go to Mombasa. I just told him, that I could accept any decision and that he should only go there if he is sure that he can win. Obviously, he is very confident about winning his sixth title."
The short-course race was abolished last year so only a 12km race will be staged for senior men.
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