London 2012 Olympics: Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie calls for earlier start to marathon

(28 Sep 2011, The Telegraph)--The great distance runner Haile Gebrselassie has called on London 2012 officials to consider the needs of marathon runners and bring forward the start time of the race at next year’s Olympic Games.

The Ethiopian, 38, said the proposed start time of 11am “was not good” and interfered with the normal routine of marathon athletes, who are used to very early starts. “Nine in the morning is better for my routine,” he told Telegraph Sport.

“It is a television thing, but the organisers should do something. If I had a chance to chat to the organisers I would tell them to revise the time of the race because to run 42km is not easy.

“Athletes around the world train in the early morning, when we wake up we train and it should be that at the London Olympics we wake up and compete. Eleven am is not good.”

There has already been controversy over the London marathon route starting and finishing at The Mall, just outside Buckingham Palace, rather than at the Olympic stadium in Stratford.

Gebrselassie said the route was not a problem. “I just don’t like the start time of the race,” he added.

Gebrselassie still has to qualify for the Olympic marathon after withdrawing from last weekend’s Berlin race because he was suffering from the effects of asthma. He encountered breathing problems after 17 miles and withdrew five miles later. FULL ARTICLE AT The Telegraph »

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