Edinburgh, Scotland – Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele, the dethroned 10-time senior men’s World Cross Country champion, will be hoping for a smoother passage towards regaining his crown tomorrow than the journey he endured today into Edinburgh.

Travelling to Scotland for the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships,  Bekele missed his flight connection at London Heathrow after a delay to his original Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa left him with only 30 minutes to connect in London. His delay was unrelated to the widely-publicised teething problems at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5.

Bekele – ‘My fitness is good’

Bekele, who was now due to arrive in Edinburgh this afternoon, said that he was unperturbed by the delay. “I have a lot of experience of the course here in Edinburgh, and have won the annual race here on three occasions, so my travel delay does not worry me.