Gebrselassie rues missing marathon

Aug 18 - Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, who opted out of the longer events due to fears over air pollution in Beijing, says he regrets not running the marathon.

Two-time Olympic 10,000-metre champion Haile Gebrselassie said on Monday (August 18) that he regretted not running the marathon at the Beijing Games due to fears of air quality.

Gebrselassie opted out of the marathon and chose to run the 10,000 metres instead as he felt the heat, humidity and pollution of Beijing would affect his asthma condition.

Beijing has spent some 120 billion yuan ($17.6 billion US dollars) on cleaning up the capital closing factories and halting construction. More than half the city's 3.3 million cars have also been cleared from the roads.

The 35-year-old Gebrselassie said that Beijing would not be his last Olympics and is planning to compete in the London 2012 Games, in either the 10,000 or the marathon.