Posted: August 4, 2004

Athletics: Gebrselassie To Run Great North Run

From David Monti

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

The organizers of the BUPA Great North Run, a half-marathon road race from Newcastle to South Shields, England, on 26-Sep, announced today that two-time Olympic 10,000m gold medalist Haile Gebrselassie has entered.

"We've had some great stars come and win here in the past," said race director, Brendan Foster, himself an Olympic medalist. "But in reality, he is the icing on the cake for what will be the Great North Run's 24th anniversary."

The race will likely serve as a tune-up for the Amsterdam Marathon on 17-Oct, where the great Ethiopian is expected to try to run a very fast time on the flat course, there.

In the mean time, Gebrselassie continues his preparations for his 10,000m Olympic title defense in Athens.