Marathon legend Gebrselassie calls it a day

Updated on: 08 November,2010 08:16 AM IST |
Correspondent |

Marathon legend Gebrselassie calls it a day after dropping out of New York event

Marathon legend Gebrselassie calls it a day after dropping out of New York event

World record holder Haile Gebrselassie leads elite men runners at the beginning of the New York City Marathon in New York yesterday. Pic/AFP

Gebrselassie, nursing an inflamed right knee, pulled out of the race at the 16-mile mark. The marathon world record-holder, who is involved in numerous business ventures in his homeland, had treatment on his knee before the race and pulled up with a wince of pain on the downhill of the Queensboro Bridge. He had run 16 miles in 1hr 19min 40sec. He set the world marathon record of 2hr 3min 59sec in 2008 at Berlin.

While he had voiced pleasure at a chance to compete in New York for the first time, he acknowledged via Twitter before the start of the race and in a pre-race television interview that he had some inflammation in his knee.

"I have some inflammation in my right knee, because of the long travel to NY city," he wrote on the micro-blogging site.u00a0 He added: "I don't want to complain anymore after this, which means it's better to stop here. Running is a gift that has allowed me to leave poverty behind," he has said. "My goal is to give my countrymen the chance to get out of poverty."

Gebre wins
Gebre Gebremariam celebrated a marathon debut triumph in New York. The 26-year-old Gebremariam underlined his status as a rising star. "New York is New York - it's so special for me just to finish," Gebremariam said.

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