Blow for Ethiopia’s Cross Country medal chances as 14 athletes are denied visas
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Reading Time: 4min | Sat. 10.01.26. | 14:23
Among the affected athletes are six U20 men and four U20 women, as well as four senior athletes, including two members of Ethiopia’s 4 x 2km mixed relay team
Ethiopia’s long-standing dominance at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships is set to suffer a historic interruption after a significant number of its athletes were denied visas to travel to the United States ahead of this weekend’s event in Tallahassee, Florida.
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Multiple reports, confirmed by the Tallahassee Democrat and athletics outlet LetsRun.com, indicate that at least 14 Ethiopian athletes had their U.S. visa applications rejected by the American embassy in Addis Ababa.
The majority of those affected are under-20 runners, a development Ethiopian officials say has effectively dismantled the country’s junior teams just days before competition.
As a result, Ethiopia will be unable to field full teams in both the men’s and women’s U20 races, where a minimum of four athletes is required to record a team score. The official entry list shows just one Ethiopian athlete entered in the men’s U20 race and three in the women’s U20 event, ruling the nation out of contention for team medals in both categories.
Ethiopia’s team for the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee has been significantly affected by U.S. visa rejections.
— BOXROX (@BOXROX) January 9, 2026
Reports indicate that 14 Ethiopian athletes were denied visas, including a large portion of the U20 squad and members of the senior team. While… pic.twitter.com/GGhAYZSQYr
The absence brings an end to two of the longest active medal streaks in the history of the World Cross Country Championships. According to World Athletics, Ethiopia has won a men’s U20 team medal at every edition of the championships since first entering a team in 1982, a remarkable run spanning 36 consecutive editions. That streak will now end, with only Ayele Sewnet securing a visa from the six athletes initially selected for the men’s junior team.
In the women’s U20 race, Ethiopia has also been a constant presence on the podium, medaling in every edition since 1991 and winning gold at the last five championships. That run will also come to a close in Tallahassee, with only three athletes available to compete.
Seventeen-year-old Marta Alemayo, the defending U20 women’s champion from the 2024 championships in Serbia, is among those cleared to travel and will line up individually, but her participation will not be enough to keep the team streak alive.
Ethiopian Athletics Federation general secretary Amensisa Kebede told LetsRun.com that the federation first submitted 34 visa applications on December 12. After several applications were rejected, a second attempt was made on December 30, but those applications were also denied.
Kebede said the federation provided invitation letters from World Athletics, support letters from the local organizing committee in Tallahassee, and backing from Ethiopia’s foreign ministry. Despite this, officials received no formal explanation for the refusals from the U.S. Embassy.
“At least 14 athletes were rejected,” Kebede said, noting that some coaches and team officials also faced visa difficulties.
Among the affected athletes were six U20 men and four U20 women, as well as four senior athletes, including two members of Ethiopia’s 4 x 2km mixed relay team.
While the junior teams have been hardest hit, Ethiopia will still be represented in the senior races. Officials have been able to replace some senior athletes with runners who already hold valid U.S. visas, allowing the country to field full senior men’s, women’s and mixed relay teams. Among those cleared to compete are Berihu Aregawi, a silver medalist at the last two editions of the championships, and teenage star Biniam Mehary.
A spokesperson from Visit Tallahassee, which partnered with World Athletics to bring the championships to the Florida capital, said visa challenges are not unique to Ethiopian athletes, noting that such issues are a broader concern for international events hosted in the United States.
World Athletics has been aware of the situation since mid-December. Speaking during a media call on December 16, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe acknowledged the complications and said efforts were underway to resolve the matter in collaboration with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
“Visas, always a challenge anywhere in the world. Particularly complicated in the US at the moment. We are aware of the situation and it’s obviously very important that if you have a World Cross Country Championships, you have Ethiopia there,” Coe said at the moment.
Visa-related problems have increasingly affected major global athletics events in recent years. Athletes encountered similar difficulties at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships in Australia and at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, with some cases unresolved until the eve of competition.
Over the past three decades, Ethiopia has been one of the strongest supporters of cross country running, consistently sending full squads to World XC across all categories. Together with Kenya, the East African powerhouse has dominated the championships to such an extent that many other nations have opted to scale back their participation or skip the event altogether due to cost.
