Riots delay Masai

Jan 3 2008 The Journal

WORLD junior cross country champion Linet Masai faces a race against the clock to reach Belfast for Saturday’s IAAF Permit meeting.

Masai set off from Iten in northern Kenya early yesterday morning hoping that, despite the political unrest in the country following the recent government elections, she can catch a flight from Nairobi. A comprehensive winner of her global gold medal in Mombassa last year, Masai is planning to use the Ulster event as the first step towards this year’s world championships in Edinburgh on March 30. But with riots raging around the nation, even moving short distances is proving difficult.

“The problem is many roads are blocked and they cannot get to the airports,” said her manager Ricky Simms, who has several other Kenyan athletes competing in Europe.

Simms, who remains in contact with her as often as he can, added last night: “She originally should have travelled on December 31 but it was impossible. Hopefully things will calm down enough to let her travel.”