Olympic silver medallist Lagat becomes US citizen

Olympic 1,500 metres silver medallist Bernard Lagat has become the latest high-profile Kenyan athlete to switch nationality.

The 30-year-old, the second fastest man in 1,500m history, has become an American citizen.

"I have lived in the United States since 1996, I graduated from Washington State University and the United States has been my permanent home for almost a decade, and it is where I envisage living in the years to come," said Lagat, who resides in Tucson, Arizona.

"The decision to change my nationality was not one I took lightly as I am very proud of my Kenyan heritage."

Several former Kenyan athletes, notably world steeplechase champion and record holder Saif Saaeed Shaheen, now compete for Qatar after emigrating for economic reasons.

Lagat will not be eligible to represent his new country at the world championships in Helsinki in August. He also missed the 2003 world championships after a doping test turned up an adverse finding for the banned drug Erythropoietin. His B sample did not confirm the positive test, though.

O'Sullivan hopes to run for Australia

Meanwhile, Ireland's former world 5,000 metres champion Sonia O'Sullivan hopes to represent Australia at next year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

O'Sullivan, 35, said she would still be able to compete for Ireland at the Olympics or European championships because the International Association of Athletics Federations had no jurisdiction over the Commonwealth Games.

She said she would decide after Sunday's London marathon which event she would run in Melbourne. O'Sullivan, who also won both world cross country titles in 1998, has two children by her Australian partner Nic Bideau.