ETAI-assisted summary Numerous Ethiopian athletes were denied U.S. visas, preventing them from competing in the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Florida. A spokesperson from Visit Tallahassee, who partnered with World Athletics to bring the Cross Country Championships to Tallahassee, said that visa issues are not exclusive to Ethiopian athletes. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe had acknowledged during a media call in December that visa issues were a concern. The USOPC is being very helpful, as they were in Eugene a couple of years ago when we had the World Championships there. All I can tell you is 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.

Source: Ethiopian News January 07, 2026 17:24 UTC