Barber out of heptathlon

"Today I have decided not to take part in the heptathlon and as for the long jump, I'm not sure yet," she told a news conference on Monday.

Barber also won the heptathlon silver medal at the world championships in Paris last year.

The 29-year-old has been hampered by the injury to her right thigh since the beginning of July and after tests on Monday morning concluded she was not fit enough to tackle the demands of the heptathlon.

"I trained this morning but there are still a number of things that are not right and I cannot be sure.

"I think I'll be going to Athens and keep testing my leg before making a decision for the long jump," she added.

"Mentally, I'm ready, 150 percent, but I must respect my body," she said.

Barber, who was heptathlon world champion in 1999, has a long history of fitness problems. A similar injury forced her out of the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Haile Gebrselassie is struggling with a leg injury and could miss out on his bid to become the first man to win three successive Olympic 10,000 metres titles, Ethiopian athletics officials said.

"Haile has been having a problem with his left leg," said head national track coach Wolde-Meskel Kostre from Addis Ababa.

"He has been instructed by the doctor to do only light training. But we still have until a few days before the race to see how he is doing."

The 31-year-old Gebrselassie has dominated long-distance running for almost a decade, also winning four world 10,000 titles. But he was beaten at last year's world championships by young team mate and training partner Kenenisa Bekele and has since lost both his 5,000 and 10,000 world records to him.

Gebrselassie ran the fastest ever 5,000 metres on British soil at Crystal Palace the end of July but then flew to Germany for treatment on his injury.

Getanuh Tessema, who works with Gebrselassie's manager Jos Hermens, said on Sunday from Addis Ababa that the situation was being monitored daily. Asked if the runner could miss his event on Friday, he said: "That is a possibility.

"The injury has been causing him trouble. But that's Haile. He wants to fight till the very end."

If Gebrselassie were to drop out, he would be replaced by world cross-country silver medallist Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam.

Bekele, aged 22, is entered for both 5,000 and 10,000 metres in Athens.

Kenyan Sammy Korir, the second fastest marathon runner ever, is undergoing treatment for a leg injury in Italy but is expected to be fit for the Athens Olympic race on August 29.

"We are monitoring him closely. We have received reports that he is recovering well and I am sure he will be here for the marathon race," said Kenyan team chief Alfred Khang'ati.

However, Athletics Kenya chairman Isaiah Kiplagat said the national federation had tried unsuccessfully to replace Korir with former Boston City marathon champion Martin Lel after he had disappeared from a training camp in Kenya.

Kiplagat said the federation had finally found Korir in Elodret, about 350 km (200 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi, where officials realised he was carrying an injury.

He said world marathon record holder Paul Tergat had expressed his concern: "Even Paul was getting worried after failing to see him for days, yet they train together. That is when we realised he was injured, which is a pity because we were sure of all the men's medals here," said Kiplagat.

The Kenyan team comprises Korir, Tergat and 2000 Sydney Olympic silver medallist Eric Wainaina.

Korir finished just one second behind Tergat when he set his world record of two hours four minutes 55 seconds in Berlin last year.

The first batch of Kenyan athletes are expected in Athens early on Tuesday. Others will come from their training camps during the week while Tergat will fly in on August 25.