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From David Monti
© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com
By Bob Ramsak
EDINBURGH -- After running to his fifth consecutive long and short course double victory at last year's IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Kenenisa Bekele suggested that it might be time for him to step aside and make way for Ethiopia's emerging generation of distance runners. Holding true to those words, the Ethiopian star reiterated that he will not be on the start line when the gun sounds at the upcoming championships in Mombasa, Kenya, in March.
“No, I’m not going to run,” he said, speaking with reporters prior to Saturday's EventScotland Great Edinburgh International Cross Country in the Scottish capital. "Last year was my last race at the World Cross Country Championships."
Prior to his 24th birthday, Bekele had amassed an unprecedented record in the cross country ranks, and even a sixth senior title over the long course race, one that would break his tie with Kenyan Paul Tergat as the most decorated athlete in the history of the event, isn’t motivation enough, Bekele said. “It’s just too much for me, after six years."
Changing his mind, Bekele insisted, is not an option.
"If I said it was the last, it will be the last. I can’t change that now."
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