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Gebrselassie to Compete Despite Achilles Problem If it was any other race, Haile Gebrselassie would not be running. But this is the Olympic 10,000, and probably the last track event of his legendary career. So despite an Achilles tendon injury, the two-time defending Olympic champion from Ethiopia will compete tomorrow. ``I was very close to pulling out,'' Gebrselassie said at a news conference yesterday. One of the greatest long-distance runners of all time, Gebrselassie, 31, is seeking to become the first individual athlete to win the same running event at three Olympics. He plans to move up to marathon for the rest of his career. ``Even if I am not doing very well, I feel I need to be there. I will try to do my best. Top three would be really great. ``If I win a medal it would be wonderful, if not, that's OK,'' said Gebrselassie, who broke his own world records nine times. Gebrselassie said he wanted to help Ethiopia achieve a sweep as they did last year at the World Championship in Paris, shutting out their great rivals from Kenya. ``I want to win but if I don't it's the same to me as long as an Ethiopian wins the race,'' Gebrselassie said. ``If the same thing happens as in Paris, it would be fantastic, you can imagine.'' Gebrselassie acknowledged that his injury may be a factor in determining Ethiopian tactics for the race. They would normally try to dictate the pace, keep together and box out the Kenyans. ``The problem is my left tendon. In Sydney four years ago, it was the right one and before that in Atlanta (in 1996) it was also the left,'' he said. Those injuries were not enough to stop Gebrselassie the last two Olympics. But his young countryman Kenenisa Bekele probably will. Who Are We ? | About THISDAYOnLine.com | THISDAY People | Contact Us © Copyright 2000 Leaders & Company Limited

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