File photo: Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia crosses the finish line to win the 38th Paris Marathon in Paris (Reuters)
Kenenisa Bekele has been left off Ethiopia's team for the Olympics after missing the country's qualifying criteria for both the marathon and the 10,000 meters, meaning the Rio de Janeiro Games will be without one of the great distance runners of the last decade.
Bekele was first denied a place on the marathon team when the Ethiopia Athletics Federation said he hadn't run enough big races over the last year to meet selection criteria, which the runner has criticized.
The world-record holder in 5,000 and 10,000 meters, Bekele then made a late attempt to get on the team in the 10,000. He failed to finish the race at a trials event last month.
Bekele appealed his exclusion in the marathon, but his absence has now been confirmed by the federation.
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