Gebrselassie misses Olympic mark

FORMER marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie has suffered a setback in his bid to qualify for London 2012.

Sunday, February 26, 2012
Haile Gebrselassie fell short of the Olympic mark in Tokyo. Net photo.

FORMER marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie has suffered a setback in his bid to qualify for London 2012.The Ethiopian was fourth in the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday with a time of two hours, eight minutes and 17 seconds.He was aiming to run under 2:05 to convince the selectors of his place."I felt fantastic for the first 30 kilometres but then I had some problems at the end of the race,” said the 38-year-old.The race was won by Kenya’s Michael Kipyego in 2:07:37.Despite the setback, Gebrselassie, who has insisted he is not going to retire as he is desperate for a place at London 2012, said he would not give up on the Olympics."I could run another marathon in two weeks,” added the two-time Olympic and four-time 10,000 metres gold medallist.The pressure is on Gebrselassie to break the 2:05 barrier after three Ethiopians ran under that time in Dubai last month.Gebrselassie’s marathon world record of 2:03:59 was bettered in September by Kenyan Patrick Makau, who won the Berlin Marathon in 2:03:38.