Gebrselassie is the 10k road record holder
|
Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie will race in the Bupa Great Manchester Run on 22 May after missing the London Marathon because of a lack of fitness.
Widely regarded as the world's greatest ever distance runner, he will compete over 10km against a top-quality field.
It includes Olympic marathon 10,000m gold medallist Stefana Baldini of Italy and Ukraine's five-time European cross country champion Sergiy Lebid.
"I'm looking forward to competing in Manchester," said Gebrselassie.
The 32-year-old has set 18 world records down the years, twice winning the Olympic 10,000m title and being crowned world champion over the distance four times.
He is also holder of the world 10km road race record - a mark of 27 minutes and two seconds in Doha in December 2002.
Matthew Turnbull, athletics director of the Great Manchester Run, said: "It's a great coup getting Haile to come to the meeting.
"The race compared to others is still relatively in its infancy.
"But we always said our intention when it began two years ago to ensure it grew in stature."
~RS~a~RS~Domestic~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~53~RS~){kind=small}
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
