The World Athletics Cross Country Championships face significant athlete absences as visa problems prevent 14 Ethiopian runners from competing and multiple European nations withdraw from Saturday’s event at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. The World Athletics Championships will take place on January 10, 2026.
Ethiopia’s junior teams cannot compete for team titles in the under-20 races because World Athletics requires a minimum of four athletes to score. The entry list shows only one Ethiopian in the men’s under-20 race and three in the women’s under-20 race. This ends Ethiopia’s 44-year streak of winning a medal in the men’s under-20 team competition dating back to 1982. The women’s under-20 team will miss the podium for the first time since 1991.
“Ethiopia will be unable to extend its streak of winning a U20 men’s team medal at every edition since 1982,” World Athletics said. Ethiopia’s streak of reaching “the team podium at every edition since 1991” will also end in the women’s U20 category.
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Ethiopia’s senior men’s and women’s teams remain eligible with six athletes entered in each race. However, the championships lost entries from 14 notable European countries, including Italy, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ukraine, Switzerland, Hungary, Czechia, and Austria.
Local immigration attorney Elizabeth Ricci told WCTV that current visa policies create uncertainty for international sporting events. She noted that while Ethiopia is not on travel ban lists, visa approval has become more difficult across all countries. Ricci suggested these issues may continue for athletes and fans traveling to future U.S. events like the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
The U.S. State Department has not commented on why visas were denied. World Athletics confirmed the visa challenges just three days before the competition. Athletes began arriving in Tallahassee on Wednesday.
Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe said the situation hurts both the athletes who trained for the world championships and communities hoping to host major international competitions. The event continues as scheduled on Saturday, with most of the world’s top cross country runners competing.
