by Larry EderIn a copyrighted story on the blog, inside the games (http://www.insidethegames.com/show-news.php?id=4225, Lamine
Diack told the assembled media that he had, in fact, written a note to Jaques Rogge...
of the IOC about the reinstatement of the cross country events into the Olympic
schedule for Summer Games.
The cross country team race was part of the Summer Olympics until 1924, when 24 of 38 runners did not finish due to extreme heat and noxious fumes from an errant energy plant nearby.
Cross country had a grand tradition in the Olympics. The likes of Paavo Nurmi, Willie Ritola ran and excelled. Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat have been among the celebrities trying to get the IOC to reconsider.
There was a move a few years ago to reach out and have cross country made part of the Winter Olympics, but that was not given any chance of happening. This movement seems to have some support, but it is very early in the process.
The biggest issue is that many are calling for the Olympics to be smaller in terms of sports, events, media, facilities. And then, there are others who want to make the event even larger.
The battle is on. Cross country has the benefit of having the tradition, it will be interesting to see who gets behind the event.
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