Cross country running could be included in the 2014 Winter Olympics after the International Association of Athletics Federations supported its introduction.

A proposal first suggested six month ago by Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele and Paul Tergat - three of the greatest distance runners in history - is fast gathering momentum.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) have now officially backed the plan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have said that they will investigate it closely after the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

Gebrselassie, Bekele and Tergat - who between them have won five Olympic gold medals, 16 World Cross-Country titles and own every world record between 5,000 metres and the marathon - wrote to Jacques Rogge, the President of the IOC, last September asking him to consider their proposal.

Lamine Diack, the President of the IAAF, said: "The IOC have now written to us to ask our advice and we have told them that we are in favour of it.

"We are prepared to organise cross country in the Winter Olympics.

"It would be a good move for our sport."

The IAAF failed in an attempt last year to get the IOC to include cross-country on the programme for the Winter Games.

The IOC replied that it was not possible because the Winter Olympic programme must be practised on “snow or ice”.

But Diack has.....