Gebrselassie in 'worst ever' marathon

Sunday 26 February 2012 20:00 EST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Kenya's Michael Kipyego won the Tokyo Marathon yesterday, leaving the former world record holder Haile Gebrselassie floundering in fourth.

Kipyego, a former 3,000m steeplechase specialist, completed the course in two hours, seven minutes and 37 seconds in chilly conditions for his first marathon victory. Gebrselassie broke away from last year's winner, Hailu Mekonnen, with four miles to go but Kipyego powered past the Ethiopian late on. The result leaves Gebrselassie's Olympic hopes in doubt, after three other Ethiopians ran below 2:05 in the Dubai Marathon last month.

In Tokyo, Gebrselassie finished in a disappointing time of 2:08:17 after targeting a sub-2:05 run in order to boost his chances of securing a spot on the Ethiopia team for this summer's London Games. The 38-year-old, who is twice a 10,000m Olympic gold medallist, said: "I felt fantastic for the first 30km but then I had some problems at the end of the race. The last 5km was the worst I've ever run."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in