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Gebrselassie sets half marathon record
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-17 09:20
Gebrselassie won the Olympic gold medal at 10,000 meters in 1996 and 2000 but
has not run on the track since his fifth-place finish at the 2004 Athens Games.
Instead, he switched to the roads, where he hopes to add a gold medal in the
marathon at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Last October, he aimed for Tergat's world marathon record of 2 hours, 4
minutes, 55 seconds at the Rotterdam Marathon but came up short at 2:06.20.
He has been training at 9,800 feet near his home in Ethiopia.
Sunday's time sends a message to Gebrselassie's foes that he is in top shape
for the April 23 London Marathon, where Tergat will be among the competitors.
"You can see from today's record," he said when asked about his condition for
London. "I hope I will do very good in the London Marathon."
There will be no "rabbits" setting the pace in that one, so Gebrselassie
downplayed the opportunity for a world record there.
"London is going to be something different because everybody wants to run to
win," he said. "I'm OK if I win. If I do not break the world record but win in
London, it is something special. But we'll see. Anything is possible."
Cheering fans waved Ethiopian flags as he neared the finish line on the
Arizona State University campus. When he crossed the finish line, a few fans and
friends surrounded him, chanting "Haile! Ethiopia!" He blew kisses to the crowd.
"Everywhere in the world, there are Ethiopians," he said.
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