Haile Gebrselassie to feature in Great North Run
Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie is poised to destroy yet another record in this year’s Great North Run in England this weekend. BBC Sport reports that the 37-year-old champion, who claimed gold at
the 1996 and 2000 Olympics in the 10,000m, is one of the many high-profile runners to participate in the event.
“My top priority here is to win the race," stated a determined Gebrselassie, for which this will be his first Great North Race. “This race is a long story and it's going to be a great race. It is really
a big chance for me, plus it's the 30th anniversary.”
The runner will be striving to break Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea’s 59min 5sec course record of five years.
Other racers which are expected to compete in the Great North Run events are Dathan Ritzenhein, Abderrahim Bouramdane, Jose-Manuel Martinez, Andy Lemoncello, Mara Yamauchi, Constantina Dita, Berhane Adere,
Ana Dulce Felix, Hayley Yelling-Higham, Liz Yelling, David Weir, and Shelly Woods.
Forty-year-old Dita, who represents Romania, is replacing Jessica Augusto who is absent due to injury. Dita won the marathon Gold Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and will be one of the oldest competitors
in this diverse event.
Britain’s own year-old Yamauchi will be participating in the event for the third time. The 37 year-old finished sixth in the marathon event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and second in the 2009 London Marathon.
“I don't think I'm in personal-best shape but if I could run close to 70 minutes I'd be happy,” she reflected, according to the Telegraph.co.uk. “[But] I'm going to give it 100 per cent, if that's good
enough to win then I'll be over the moon. If it isn't, it will still be useful marker as to where I am in my training, but if I'm feeling good on the day of the race I think I could be up there.”
The highly anticipated 13.1 mile Tyneside run, stretching from Newcastle to South Shields, will take place in Gateshead this Sunday, and approximately 54,000 runners are predicted to compete.
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