Ethiopian runner assaults coach after missing worlds team

Chala Beyo (centre) races at the Rio 2016 Olympic games. (Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — An Ethiopian athlete has been banned for two years for attacking his coach after learning he didn’t make the team for next month’s world championships in London.

Ethiopian Athletics Federation spokesman Sileshi Bisrat says 21-year-old steeplechase runner Chala Beyo, who competed at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, punched coach Yohannes Mohammed when the team was announced.

The coach needed medical treatment for an injured left eye, and Bisrat says police are searching for the runner.

Bisrat says Chala was carrying a rock when he assaulted his coach, but didn’t use it.

Chala ran for Ethiopia in the 3,000 metres steeplechase at last year’s Olympics. He didn’t qualify for the final.

The federation says it has banned him for two years from all competitions.

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