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Fitter, faster but Olympic legend says Beijing gold unlikely

  • Story Highlights
  • Marathon runner Haile Gebrselassie is one of Ethopia's most celebrated athletes
  • He's aiming to break the world marathon record he set in Berlin in 2007 this year
  • He's contesting the 10,000 meters in Beijing Olympics but doesn't expect to win
  • Gebrselassie: "If I won bronze, fine. Even if I don't compete, I don't mind"
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By Hilary Whiteman
CNN
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- In Beijing in August, Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie will once again find himself staring down the 10,000 meters of rubberized track that curls between him and a third gold medal in the Olympic event.

Gebrselassie goes on a training run with companions at home in Addis Ababa.

Gebrselassie goes on a training run with companions at home in Addis Ababa.

He won gold in 1996 and 2000, but finished a disappointing fifth in 2004 when a problem with his Archilles tendon hampered training in the lead up to Athens.

This time it's different. He's pounding a well-worn path on often twice-daily runs through the streets of his hometown of Addis Ababa. He's older and injury-free.

In 2004, he was under pressure to become the first man in history to win gold over 10,000 meters in three consecutive Olympics. Now it's not even his first choice of race to run.

"I'm not interested in the 10,000 meters," he says; a somewhat surprising statement from a man just weeks away from competing in the world's greatest ever sporting event, the pinnacle of any athlete's career.

The problem is he's been there, done that and recognizes that he's unlikely to match his younger opponents in speed over the distance. In Beijing, he'll be toeing the starting line with the current world champion Kenenisa Bekele and Sileshi Sihine, both Ethiopians who finished first and second in Athens in 2004.

"They're in good shape. They're already superior athletes," Gebrselassie says. "For me to be there, it's not for Bekele or Sihine, just to be in the group, to stay together, to share their experience. Most of them they know how to compete, they know how to win."

In March, Gebrselassie made the highly-publicized decision not to contest the Olympic marathon in Beijing. He insists it's not a slight against China and the Olympic organizers but, as an asthmatic, he says the risks to his health are too great.

Running the 10,000 meters was a compromise, says Jos Hermens of Global Sports Communication, Gebrselassie's manager. Haile didn't want to disappoint his fans and fellow countrymen who had been expecting him to race.

"Of course he's running for himself also," Hermens says, "But for him, it's a team effort to run for his country. He'll be very happy if the other two guys are doing well. I think Haile would be very happy with a bronze medal."

Would he? "Yeah, absolutely," Gebrselassie insists. "The 10,000 meters is not my event any more. If I won bronze, fine. Even if I don't compete, I don't mind."

While the Beijing Olympics might merit a small note on Gebrselassie's calendar, there is a big red circle marked around September 28th, the date of the Berlin Marathon, just five weeks later.

"One of my targets this year is the Berlin Marathon, to run a good time and if possible surpass the world record," he says.

It's a record he set in spectacular style last November, covering the 42 kilometers in just two hours, four minutes and 26 seconds. It was his 25th world record. He attempted to better the time at the Dubai Marathon in January, but missed out by a mere 27 seconds, a failure Gebrselassie blames on over-enthusiasm at the start; he just ran too fast.

"I paid the price at the end because I could not push anymore, especially the last seven or eight kilometers," he says.

In Berlin, he's hoping to strike the right balance of restraint and speed to take him over the line first and fastest. It won't be an easy feat. Training for the 10,000 meters is all about speed. After the Olympics he'll literally have to switch gears to work on his strength and stamina.

"It's not a normal preparation for a marathon," Gebrselassie's manager, Jos Hermens says. "Normally you have a few months of preparation. It's kind of new territory he will be in."

"I think it will be OK because Haile's 35 and his body is a running machine," Hermens says. "He's done so much endurance, but you don't know how the body will react. For him and for us it's something to see because it's never been done before at this level."

Gebrselassie is not fazed. He's simply merged training for the two disciplines into one unconventional schedule. "I'm trying to work on endurance and a bit of speed. If I move completely to speed work I lose the benefits of the endurance training. I'm trying to handle both," he says.

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It seems a lot of work for someone who's conceded that his days as the fastest man over 10,000 meters are over. He's already passed the baton to Kenenisa Bekele, who bettered his world record over the distance in 2004, and again in 2005, at a blistering 26:17.53.

Gebrselassie may not be putting money on himself to win in Beijing, but he's in no doubt that one of his Ethiopian team mates will be first across the line. "For sure," he says, "No question about it."

All About Summer OlympicsHaile GebrselassieEthiopia

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