22nd May, 2012
Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie, who won the Great Manchester Run on Sunday in the fastest 10 kilometres time of the year, is eyeing an Olympic ticket.
The 39-year-old clocked 27 minutes 39 seconds to claim his fifth victory on the streets of Manchester, and then turned his attention to booking his place at his fifth Olympic Games.
The Ethiopian missed out on a place in the marathon at London 2012, but has his sights on competing at this the London Olympics over 10,000 metres. Gebrselassie, double Olympic and four-time world 10,000 metres champion, will run over the distance in Hengelo, The Netherlands, next Sunday in a race which will double as the Ethiopian Olympic trials, with the top three set to be selected for the team.
“I am so happy today, everything was perfect,” he said. “I am not surprised to run that fast. I wanted to run under 27 minutes. According to my training this year, I feel I can run faster on the track. I want to go under 27 minutes, that’s what I am thinking. If I run this fast on the road, why not on the track?” In the women’s race, Kenya’s Linet Masai, the former world 10,000 metres champion, took victory in 31 minutes 35 seconds.