RWANDA was compelled to pull out of Sunday’s World Cross Country Championship in Bydgoszcz, Poland after being denied entry into London, United Kingdom on Thursday night. The athletics team, who had left Kigali aboard Ethiopian Airlines, was stopped at Addis Ababa international airport because they did not have British visas for their stop over in London. The Athletics federation Secretary General Jack Ngabonziza told Times Sport yesterday, “It’s true that the team will not compete in Poland because they were denied entry visas for England.” Italy based runner Sylvain Rukundo and Gervais Hakizimana, who has been training in France have now been notified to cancel their respective flights to Poland. Last week, the team was denied Polish visas in Nairobi but IAAF promised that visas would be issued upon their arrival in Bydgoszcz. The team included Hakizimana, Rukundo, Felix Ntirenganya and Eric Sebahire in the men’s category and Claudette Mukasakindi, Pelagie Musengimana and Francine Ingabire in the ladies’ fray. Ends
