World Champion caught up in Kenyan conflict crisis Linet Masai, the current World Junior Cross Country champion who is due to race at Stormont this coming Saturday has had her travel plans thrown into chaos because of the tribal violence which has engulfed the Western part of the country. Linet who lives in the same area where over 30 people were burnt to death in a church has been told that it is too dangerous to travel by road to Nairobi to catch a plane to London and then Belfast. A representative was trying to arrange transport for her but he too experienced problems yesterday when travelling to Eldoret to identify the body of former athlete Lucas Sang who was murdered. As a result she has been waiting in the vicinity of Eldoret Airport for the next two days in the hope that she may get a connecting flight to Nairobi. However, the chances of her succeeding do not look particularly good as it is reported that many hundreds of refugees are trying to bound the same flight. 18 year old Masai who won the world title in Mombasa last March is scheduled to race against some of Britain’s top class country stars in a 5.6K race at Stormont Estate. Her opposition includes up and coming star Stephanie Twell who retained her European Junior Cross Country title 3 weeks ago. Twell’s gutsy performances have resulted in being compared with world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe. Also racing will be Hayley Yelling- the UK’s most consistently successful cross country racer. Athletics Northern Ireland, who organise and promote the Stormont event are keeping their fingers crossed that Masai is able to make it to Belfast. A spokesperson said: “We really appreciate that Linet is making such determined efforts to travel to Belfast to race. However, her safety is of paramount importance and we are relieved to hear that she is not taking any unnecessary risks” Further info from Clare McCoy 02890 602707/ 07841804032 or Brian Hill 07815069697.