Eritrea: Recently defected athletes sign for Shettleston

21 April 2008 (The Herald, Scottland)--As Arbroath took the honours in the opening match of the Scottish Men's Athletics League yesterday at Grangemouth, the best athletes on view were spectators, from Eritrea. They're seeking political asylum in Britain but have yet to complete UK Athletics formalities which will let them run for Shettleston Harriers.

Eight Eritreans selected for the World Cross-Country Championships in Edinburgh last month did not return home, but officials of the Glasgow east end club confirmed that five women and three men have joined them.

"We've helped them with kit and shoes, because they had very little when they arrived," said club spokesman John Mackay.

Some of the Eritrean team failed to get visas in time from the British embassy in Cairo, and arrived too late to compete at Holyrood where their compatriot, Zersenay Tadesse, the defending champion, finished third. Tadesse's younger and older brothers were also due to compete, but the younger brother was among those delayed in Cairo, and didn't run in Edinburgh. He is not among those seeking asylum.

Amanuel Woldeselassie ran at Grangemouth as a guest in the 5000m yesterday. He finished second behind Central's former national cross-country champion, Robert Russell.

Woldeselassie was more than a minute outside his best (13:35.58) in Algiers last year. He was 39th, and a member of the Eritrean team which finished fourth in Edinburgh. That was his fourth world cross-country, and his highest finishing place.

Shivering on the sidelines was Tsegai Tewelde. He was 19th in the junior race in Edinburgh, two places lower than in Mombasa 12 months earlier.

Tewelde, who set a national 1500m record of 3:42.10 when fifth at the World Junior Championships in Beijing in 2006, explained why he and his team mates want to remain in Scotland: "To keep our lives," he told me. "If we go home they'll send us to the army."

Jamie Coull had a fine sprint double for Pitreavie, while Chris Smith (62.36m in the javelin) was most meritorious of the three Arbroath A-string winners. Iain Park, who threw the hammer for Scotland at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, and hasn't trained since, won the B event for Falkirk yesterday, with 55.56m.

n Eilidh Child, the European Under-23 finalist, began 2008 with two significant victories.

The Fife PE student won the 400m in the Scottish Women's League yesterday at Meadowbank (54.86), ahead of Elgin internationalist Kathryn Evans.

The previous day, the Pitreavie athlete won the Scottish Universities 400m hurdles title (59.99) in cold and blustery conditions at Grangemouth. This was the distance at which Child was fifth in the European under-23 event last year.

Edinburgh won the opening league match yesterday while Stirling took the student title on Saturday with Lisa Glover (Glasgow Caledonian) reaching 43.41m, javelin qualifying mark for the World Youth Games.