Kenya's athletics body said eight reserves named to the Beijing Olympics athletics team will travel with the main team but stay outside the Games Village in the Chinese city.

The team's Chef de Mission, David Okeyo, had reiterated that no joyrider would be on the trip saying everyone in the Kenyan contingent had reason to make the trip.

"There will be no joyriders as everyone who is traveling has a role to play in Beijing. The alternate runners will come in handy as perfect replacements, should there be injuries in the team," he said.

Okeyo said the only hindrance to have the alternative athletes travel was the fact that they would not have been admitted at the village, but they would be booked in hotels in the City.

"But I'm happy that the matter has finally been resolved," said Paul Kipsiele Koech, one of the reserves. The alternate athletes have been picked as a back-up, in the event of injury or discipline problems in the initial 37-member squad.

World cross country silver medallist, Leonard Komon, Africa 800 meters champion David Rudisha, Olympic 3,000 meters steeplechase bronze medallist, PaulKipsiele Koech, were all selected as reserve athletes by Athletics Kenya.

Rudisha, a student of St. Patrick's High School, turned down the request to join the team to prepare for his KCSE exams at the end of the year.

Others are Josephat Ndambiri, Africa 5,000 meters silver medallist Isaac Songok, Philis Ongori, 2005 Boston marathon winner Rita Jeptoo and world champion Luke Kibet.

This was said by officials who made a quick retreat after earlier confirming the athletes named as fall-back in the event of an injury, but whose inclusions caused disquiet at the camp, had indeed been dropped.

Athletics head coach Julius Kirwa was a happy man when he found out reserves would be included, saying it would have been illogical to have them brought to camp and then dropped.

Former world marathon record holder, Paul Tergat, termed the recent announcement by the government to increase cash rewards to Olympic champions as commendable.

"For a very long time, sportsmen and women who have brought glory to this country have been receiving no recognition from the government for their gallant efforts until recently," said Tergatwas during the send-off party for the Kenya team hosted by Safaricom on Thursday night.

The Beijing Olympics organizing committee on Monday said it would only allow the competing teams to village.

Apart from the 37 athletes selected by Athletics Kenya (AK) during the national trials on July 4 and 5, eight more had been identified to accompany the squad and act as replacements in case an athlete fell sick or suffered an injury.

Okeyo confirmed the dropping of swimmer Pina Ecorlano, whose entry was rejected by the International Swimming Federation (Fina).

The swimming team manager Joe Mutune said that Kenya had presented an appeal for the wild card entry, but the global body said that Kenya had already qualified with two swimmers, Jason and David Dunford, ruling out Ercolano.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2008)