Bekele left off Ethiopia's Olympic team

Kenenisa Bekele won’t compete at next month’s Olympics, perhaps the distance running great’s last chance at the games, after he was left off Ethiopia’s final team for failing to meet the country’s qualifying criteria in both the marathon and the 10,000 metres.

Bekele, the world-record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000, had appealed his exclusion in the marathon but the Ethiopian Athletics Federation released its final list for the Rio de Janeiro Games over the weekend, confirming Bekele’s absence. Bekele was first denied a place in the marathon when the federation said he hadn’t run enough big races over the last year to meet the selection criteria, which have been criticised by Bekele. —AP