Posted: July 30, 2004

Athletics: Gebrselassie To Run ING Amsterdam Marathon

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Win van Hemert

Amsterdam (30-Jul) -- Haile Gebrselassie will run the 29th edition of the ING Amsterdam marathon on Sunday October 17th, the organizers of the event announced here today. It will the Ethiopian's second start on the distance of 42.195 metres.

Gebrselassie ran his first marathon in London two years ago clocking 2:06:35 and finishing third behind Khalid Khannouchi (USA) and now world record holder Paul Tergat (Ken). Gebrselassie's time is still the fastest time fo a debut.

Although he had several offers to run a fall marathon, the two-time Olympic champion and four-time world champion opted for the ING Amsterdam Marathon as the race that will fit perfectly in his preparation for longer distances, such as the half and full marathon, in the future.

Gebrselassie will run his last track race during next month's Olympic Games at Athens, where he will try to defend his 10,000m title.