 Somalia-born Mo Farah leads the British squad in Kenya |
British athletics chiefs say they are taking warnings of possible attacks on the World Cross Country Championships in Kenya very seriously. The US embassy in Mombasa issued a statement on Tuesday warning of a potential terrorist threat at the meet.
UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins said: "You ignore information such as this at your peril."
An IAAF spokesman said: "We would like to reassure people that every effort is being made by the Kenyan authorities."
US citizens in Kenya have been urged by their government to raise personal vigilance, mindful that nine years ago attacks on the US embassy there and in Tanzania saw 250 people killed.
But the IAAF's Nick Davies said: "We have received an assurance from the Kenyan government that a specific security plan involving all branches of the country's military and police forces is already in place."
Five-times double champion Kenenisa Bekele will now compete at the event, Ethiopian officials have announced. Bekele had previously said he would not run at another world cross championships after completing a historic 4km and 12 km race double for a fifth time in Fukuoka, Japan last year.
Bekele said: "Fellow athletes told me to compete in Mombasa - and fans asked me to reconsider my decision."
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