Naturalised discus-thrower permitted to represent Finland at Athletics World Championships

IAAF waives quarantine period after intensive lobbying

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On Monday, the International Amateur Athletic Federation granted special dispensation for the discus-thrower Frantz Kruger to represent Finland at the IAAF World Championships, which begin in Osaka at the end of this week.
      Kruger, who is South African by birth and who now lives in Vaasa, applied for Finnish citizenship and was granted it earlier this year. He is married to a former Finnish international athlete Heli Kruger (née Koivula), who represented the country in the triple jump. They have one child.
     
Kruger was relieved at the decision, which was preceded by some intensive lobbying from the Finnish side, in order to overturn a normal three-year quarantine period for athletes changing their country of representation.
      In certain cases, when the athletics associations of both the former and current country are in agreement, the three years can be reduced to one, and under exceptional circumstances the IAAF have the power to remove even this obstacle to competition. This is what happened in this instance.
      Kruger will be a welcome addition to a Finnish team that has been hit in the run-up to the games by a number of injuries to possible medal hopefuls.
      The 32-year-old is among the best in the world in his discipline, and has the 8th-longest throw of this year to his name. He was also a bronze medallist at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, when he was representing South Africa.


Links:
  Frantz Kruger (Wikipedia)

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