Kenenisa Bekele - ap

brussels, belgium (ap)

The IAAF is looking into a request by three African long-distance greats to bring cross country running back into the Summer Olympics.

Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie and Kenya's Paul Tergat made the request in a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Cross-country was last contested at the 1924 Olympics.

"It would be wonderful to give the world's best cross-country runners the chance to compete in the greatest of all sporting festivals," the three wrote.

The IOC has already referred the letter to the IAAF, since it is up to the international federation to ask for such a readmission.

An earlier attempt to bring cross-country into the Winter Games has already been turned down.

"Now, the question is whether we will seek entry into the summer games for cross country," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said yesterday.

The IAAF considers cross- country a key part of its winter racing programme, so it is unclear under what conditions the event could find a spot in the already bloated summer programme.

Bekele has already won three Olympic long-distance golds on the track, on top of six long-distance cross-country titles. Tergat has five world cross-country titles, while Haile Gebrselassie won two Olympic 10,000 metres titles and holds the world record in the marathon.

Of the three times cross-country was on the Olympic programme between 1912 and 1924, Finland's Paavo Nurmi won twice.