ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Distance running great Haile Gebrselassie was part of a group of athletes who protested against the Ethiopian track federation on Tuesday.
The athletes were protesting the federation’s selection process for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Gebrselassie was part of a group of more than 100 athletes who gathered outside the National Stadium in Addis Ababa.
Gebrselassie told The Associated Press that the federation was ''marred with incompetency.’' He was protesting against, among other things, the exclusion of Kenenisa Bekele from the marathon team for the Games.
Bekele, the 5000m and 10,000m world-record holder, was also present. Both he and Gebrselassie addressed the athletes.
A number of other athletes have complained about their exclusion from Ethiopia’s Olympic team, claiming that the selection process is unfair.
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