World record holder confirms he will not risk long-distance run in Beijing pollution
Updated on Mar 11, 2008 – SCMP
Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie confirmed yesterday he would not compete in the Olympic marathon because of fears that Beijing’s air pollution would damage his health.
The Ethiopian runner, who suffers from asthma, said he would still compete in the shorter 10,000 metres event in the August Games.
“The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42km in my current condition,” he said.
“But I am not pulling out of the Olympic event in Beijing altogether. I plan to participate in the 10,000m event,” he added.
The Ethiopian ace’s agent, Jos Hermens, said: “He doesn’t want to put his career in danger and he still wants to run at the 2012 Olympics in London.
“His dream is to run in two hours and three minutes and to be the first to do that. It’s more important for him than to win another gold medal.”
Hermens said Gebrselassie (pictured) would first have to qualify for the Ethiopian team in the 10,000m. The team would be selected after the May 24 meeting in Hengelo. “I don’t know what he will do if he doesn’t qualify for the 10,000 metres,” he said.
Pollution is a major issue facing Beijing in the run-up to the Games.
International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge said last year that events such as the marathon could be rescheduled if contingency measures did not have the desired effect. Gebrselassie called on China to deal with the problem, saying that pollution “would be a hazard to athletes, seriously affecting their performances”.
Dube Jillo, technical director of the Ethiopian Athletic Federation, said as far as his federation was concerned, Haile was expected to compete in the Olympics.
“But whether he runs in the marathon or 10,000m, for which he holds a world record, would be his own choice,” said Dube.
Rogge said in November that a monitoring system would be set up in Beijing to gauge whether air pollution warranted delaying events.
Events that involve endurance, such as the marathon or cycling distance races, could be delayed for a few hours or until another day, Rogge said.
“During a marathon for more than two hours, riding a bicycle race for five to six hours – that could be a hazard and then we would postpone the race,” he said.
Meanwhile, Athens Olympic women’s marathon gold medallist Mizuki Noguchi said yesterday she was ready to take on anyone as she was formally selected for Japan’s Olympic squad.
“There is no telling who will come out in the marathon. As usual, I see all the competitors as rivals,” the 29-year-old said.
About the prospects of a second straight Olympic gold, Noguchi said: “There are big expectations and I have dreams as well.”
Reuters, Agence France-Presse