UK Visa Denied for Olympic Star

An Olympic star, Ejagayehu Dibaba, who was hoping to run in the Sheffield's Bupa Great Yorkshire Run was not be able to make it. The Olympic star wasn't able to take part in the run as she failed to get a visa to enter into the UK.

This 27-year-old former Olympic 5,000 meter sliver medalist is just the most recent addition to a long list of people failing to get into the UK. The sporting event, which took place early this week, saw thousands of athletes race through the Sheffield city center.

Of course, other Ethiopian runners were also refused entry for last weekend's British Grand Prix in Gateshead. Thus, this seems to be a growing trend. However, it is understood that the Foreign Office did attempt, but with no success, to expedite the necessary documentation to Dibaba so that she could take part in the race.

The organizers for the event were not able to find a suitable substitute for the Olympic runner, but it was still a very competitive women's event with runners like Jessica Augusto and Benita Willis taking part in it. These two runners happened to be pre-race favorites to win. Benita Willis from Australia was the runner who won the inaugural race two years ago.

This crack down on visas has come during a time when the UK has been hard on everyone that is seeking entry into the UK. Although these are not the kind of people that they were hoping to keep out in the process, this is something that is bound to happen until the new system is worked out. The Home Office was able to get some visas to athletes in time to attend the event, like Eliud Kipchoge, who was the Beijing Olympics 5,000 meter sliver medalist.