Ethiopian athletics legend Haile Gebrselassie (right) failed to qualify for the London Olympics here yesterday as he could only finish seventh in the 10,000 metres.
The 39-year-old two-time Olympic 10,000m champion - who had already failed to post a qualifying time for the marathon — admitted his hopes had been dashed after his disappointing performance against 12 of his compatriots. Ethiopia were using this as a qualifier for the Olympics. “The Games in London, is over for me,” he told AFP.
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Tariku Bekele and Leleisa Desisa Benti finished first and second respectively — with the former posting the best time in the world this year of 27min 11.70sec — to book their tickets for London.
The third spot is being kept for Bekele’s older brother and world record holder Kenenisa, who has been struggling for several months with a calf muscle problem.
Gebrselassie, a four-time world 10,000m champion, had come into the race boosted by his victory in the 10km Great Manchester Run in northwest England last week in 27min 39secs.u00a0
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