(June 18, 2011, Berlin) - World record holder Haile Gebrselassie will return to the Berlin marathon in September, hoping to use the race to seal qualification for the 2010 London Olympics, the organizers said Friday.
Gebrselassie won the Berlin marathon four times in a row from 2006 but did not compete at last year's race in the German capital.
Berlin is a favourite course for the 38-year-old Ethiopian who set his first world record in the city in 2007 and bettered it a year later to the current best mark of 2 hours 3 minutes 59 seconds.
'I love the Berlin marathon. The crowds are fantastic and on a good day everything is possible on this extremely fast course,' he said in a statement.
Gebrselassie won the Berlin marathon four times in a row from 2006 but did not compete at last year's race in the German capital.
Berlin is a favourite course for the 38-year-old Ethiopian who set his first world record in the city in 2007 and bettered it a year later to the current best mark of 2 hours 3 minutes 59 seconds.
'I love the Berlin marathon. The crowds are fantastic and on a good day everything is possible on this extremely fast course,' he said in a statement.
Germany's Irina Mikitenko has meanwhile opted out of the world championships in Daegu, South Korea to run in Berlin on September 25.
She improved her own German record of 2:19:19 in winning in Berlin in 2008.
'I am not coming to Berlin to lose. I want to win the marathon to qualify for the London Olympics,' she said.
Source: monstersandcritics.com
She improved her own German record of 2:19:19 in winning in Berlin in 2008.
'I am not coming to Berlin to lose. I want to win the marathon to qualify for the London Olympics,' she said.
Source: monstersandcritics.com
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