Ethiopia's marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie plans to race at the London Olympics in 2012 even though he'll be almost 40.
The 35-year-old set the world record in Berlin last September but has opted out of the Beijing marathon because of health concerns sparked by the city's notorious smog.
And despite only finishing in sixth place in the 10,000 metres behind compatriot Kenenisa Bekele on Sunday night, Gebrselassie has no plans to call it quits.
He will return to Berlin on September 28 to try to break his record of two hours, four minutes and 26 seconds, before turning his thoughts to the London Games in 2012.
"I have no plans to stop running, I want to run for at least the next ten years," he said.
"My next competition is the Berlin marathon, I know the course well because I have run it twice. I know where I have to push the pace, that is why I do well there."
Can he lower his world record there? "It's a secret", replied the Ethiopian who was Olympic 10,000m champion in 1996 and 2000.
In his absence, Gebrselassie believes triple London marathon winner and 2004 champion Martin Lel will be favourite on Sunday.
"It is very difficult to say who will win, but the Kenyans are strong," he said.
"Martin Lel is a good bet, but it's an open field and you just never know."
Having been at Beijing's National Stadium to see Liu Xiang withdraw from the men's 110m hurdles with a foot injury in Monday's heats, Gebrselassie says he has sympathy for the Chinese sprinter who was under huge pressure to win gold on home soil.
"Liu Xiang is obviously very sad and I can understand his pain. It is painful for him, but the pain is not in his leg. Where is the pain? It's up here," said Gebrselassie, pointing to his head.
"It's bad luck, not just for Liu Xiang or for China, but for everyone.
"We all wanted to see the best race between him and Cuba's Dayron Robles.
"The race won't happen but that unpredictability is one of the good things about sport."
Source: Yahoo Sports
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