Regretably this was the news of the hour today
Haile Gebrselassie says he will not run in the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of the city's air pollution levels
this was always a distinct possibility especially since breathing problems caused Gebrselassie to drop out of the London Marathon in 2007.
With the expected poor air conditions of Beijing this comes as know surprise, the Ethiopain athlete has stated that he has intentions of participating in the 10000m however for a great many they would have liked for Geb to have sealed his legacy as one of the greatest athletes ever by winning a Marathon Gold.
Well this is not to be and eyes have now turned towards Paula Radcliffe who co-incidently suffers from exercise induced asthma which could be greatly affected due to the known and well documented air conditions in China's capital.
The heat and pollution will be two further complications the athletes will need to face, as though running 26 miles at an effort beyond most humans is not a test already.
TheEd
