LONDON, July 14: THE International Amateur Athletic Federation will allow reigning champions to compete at next month's World Championships even if they have not been selected by their national federation.

The decision to give wild cards to defending champions was announced by the IAAF in Monaco today.

Double Olympic champion Michael Johnson will now be able to run at the Athens event although he missed the US trials due to injury and was not selected for the American team.

Johnson won the 200 and 400 metres at the 1995 Gothenburg World Championships and repeated the double at last year's Atlanta Olympics.

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