Olympics: World's fastest marathoner chases wildcard

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

The world's fastest marathon man, Khalid Khannouchi, is stuck in no-man's land, and relying on a letter to get him to the Olympics.

Khannouchi, who left Morocco to become a United States citizen, is struggling with a leg injury and cannot run in any of the US Olympic trials.

He has put all his hopes in a letter written to USA Track and Field, asking for a special waiver to get into the American team for Sydney.

Khannouchi, who ran the world's fastest time of 2h 05m 42s in Chicago last year, suffered an ankle injury which has developed into nagging hamstring trouble.

If he is given a wildcard entry into the team, he could still have to get Moroccan officials' permission to run for his new country.

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