Haile Gebrselassie, fresh off his win in the Berlin Marathon, will compete in Japan in December while he builds up for his attempt to break the world record and win the Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.
"The victory in Berlin has given me more confidence for the marathon at the Olympics," the Ethiopian said on Monday. "But I have to qualify for the Ethiopian team for Beijing first."
"I was confident before Berlin that I would run well and this performance shows that I'm one of the best in the marathon," he said.
PHOTO: EPA
Gebrselassie, who has won the Olympic 10,000m title twice, had been on pace for much of the Berlin race to break the world record of 2.04.55 set by Paul Tergat of Kenya on the same course in 2003. Running in a strong wind, Gebrselassie finished in 2:05:56, the fastest time in the world this year.
"People tell me that Paul Tergat was doing extra-long runs before he broke the world record in Berlin three years ago. Well I'm used to running 40km as well. That's what you have to do for the marathon," he said.
"The pacemakers did a good job overall, it's just that you can't expect to have several runners with you toward the end of a race and on course for 2:03 or 2:04,"Gebrselassie said.
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