Ethiopian runner Gabreselassie meets Austrian President

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Ethiopian long distance running legend Haile Gabreselassie, who won a chase race against British World Marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe in Vienna, Austria, on Sunday, was hosted to a reception by the country's President, Mr Heinz Fischer, ahead of the race.

According to the online RaceNewsService, the reception, during the weekend of the Vienna City Marathon, was also attended by British legend Radcliffe.

At the Champions Race on the sidelines of the Vienna City Marathon, the Ethiopian chased the British world marathon record holder over the half marathon distance.

Having had to close a gap of 7:52 minutes, Gebrselassie still won comfortably with a time of 60:52 minutes, compared to Paula Radcliffe’s 72:03 (11:11 time difference).

Meanwhile, Gebrselassie has announced that his next competition will be the Great Manchester Run on 20 May. After this 10-k race, he will run the 10,000 metres in Hengelo, The Netherlands.

“This will be my last 10,000 metre race,” said Gebrselassie, who does not care anymore about Olympic qualification. “But I still feel good. There is only a small difference compared to 2011. I am just a bit slower now.”
-0- PANA SEG 16April2012