The chances of Fionnuala McCormack winning back the European Cross Country title in Italy on Sunday are looking considerably slimmer given the inclusion of not one but two Kenyan runners now representing Turkey.
Entries for the event in Chia, Sardinia, were confirmed yesterday, and the Turkish women’s team includes both Yasemin Can and Meryem Akda – two Kenyan-based athletes who have neither lived nor trained in Turkey for any significant time.
Can, formerly Vivian Jemutai, has already caused something of a stir when winning the European 10,000m title on the track in Amsterdam last July: still only 19 she only became eligible to compete for Turkey back in March despite having no previous ties with the country.
McCormack, who finished a close fourth in the same race, promptly made her feelings known. “It’s the exact same every f****** time. It’s a joke, really, and I am not just saying this because I came fourth.
“There’s absolutely no reason, and I don’t mean to be bad to people in Turkey, but there is not really any reason people would want to immigrate to Turkey at this point in time. It’s a dangerous country to be living in, so why would people feel like they want to represent them. I have no idea and I don’t think it should be allowed.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything that can be done about it. People have taken such a soft approach. Once you’ve represented one country past a certain age that should be your country for life.”
Can was the runaway winner on the track in Amsterdam, and has the potential to do likewise in Chia on Sunday.
Formidable
Indeed, the Turkish team looks formidable given Akda’s inclusion, the other Kenyan-based athlete previously known as Mirriam Jepchirchir, and who like Can only became eligible to represent Turkey in March of this year having competed for Kenya up until May of 2015.
McCormack has made clear her ambition of trying to reclaim the European Cross Country title following her back-to-back wins in 2011-12; she has also finished fourth in the event over the last two years.
Following a victory at the IAAF international event in Madrid last Sunday week, she is coming into her peak form at the right time.Whether that form will be enough to beat the two Kenyan runners remains to be seen.
Can has raced sparingly on the cross-country circuit, having placed seventh in the Rio Olympic 10,000m in 30:26:41, but won’t be running in Chia to make up the numbers. She fairly routed the field in Amsterdam last July to win in 31:12.86, with McCormack fourth in 31:30.74.
Transfer rules
McCormack’s comments on Turkey’s lax transfer rules did not go unnoticed, with European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen promising to raise the issue with the IAAF, who ultimately make the rules on international transfers.
“Firstly, we need to be clear that any athlete who is granted refugee status can be fast-tracked to compete for a new country if appropriate,” said Hansen. “However, we in European Athletics believe there is a need to look more closely at the appropriate conditions for a change of nationality and the length of time before eligibility is granted to compete.”
Sunday’s championships in Chia may well force an even closer look at that issue.
