JOHANNESBURG - The one-hour (most distance run in 60 minutes) record of Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie may be under threat from Great Britain’s Mo Farah at the Diamond League meeting, in Brussels, on Friday.
In 2007 the Ethiopian great and two-time Olympic 10,000m champion Gebrselassie rolled back the years and became the 11th and most recent one-hour standard bearer.
Five years earlier, Gebrselassie had attempted the mark in Hengelo only for a calf injury to force him off the track 39 minutes into the run.
But in Ostrava’s Mestsky Stadium, in what was his second crack at the record, the 34-year-old comfortably delivered achieving a distance of 21,285m.
“I was a little bit worried about the wind and the temperature because it was very hot that day,” recalls Gebrselassie to World Athletics. “But the record was not super-fast, so I knew I was capable.”
Adding his 23rd and 24th world records of his career that day in Ostrava (he also took the 20km world record in 56:25.98) – the two marks remain Gebrselassie’s last remaining world records.
However, on Friday he fully expects his name to be erased as existing world one-hour record holder.
“The record, I think is not so difficult,” explains Gebrselassie. “I think Mo wants the record and he will get it.”
If the 37-year Briton does achieve his goal in Brussels, then he will add his name to a very distinguished list of athletes.
African News Agency (ANA)