By John Mehaffey
LONDON (Reuters) – Haile Gebrselassie has a one million dollar incentive to lower his own world record in Dubai on Friday in his final marathon before the Beijing Olympics.
A world record total prize money pool of $1,000,000 is at stake for the men’s and women’s races with a first-place prize of $250,000.
If Gebrselassie breaks the mark of two hours 4 minutes 26 seconds he set in Berlin last year he will get a one million dollar bonus.
Although his manager Jos Hermens is on record as saying he believes the 34-year-old Ethiopian can run under 2:04 the athlete himself was a little more cautious in a phone interview from Addis Ababa before flying to Dubai.
“Yes, I did 2.04 in Berlin,” Gebrselassie said. “But everything was perfect, the weather, the course, the pacemaking. Sure, it’s possible to do under 2.04, but everything has to be perfect again.
“Training is okay, everything is okay, I have to be in good shape, but shape is not enough. The day of the race is also important.
On Wednesday Hermens told reporters Gebrselassie would aim to run 62:15 for the first half of the race, 14 seconds faster than in Berlin.
“The most important thing is that he feels good at 30 kms, when the pacemakers drop out, and he has to do it himself,” Hermens said.
World records for the double Olympic and four-times world 10,000 metres champion have become routine. His mark in Berlin was the 24th of his career.
Temperatures at the 7am start time are predicted to be around 13-15 degrees Celsius, the same as in Berlin last September and race director Peter Connerton said the course was “probably the flattest in the world”.
Gebrselassie will be paced by former world half-marathon champion Fabiano Joseph of Tanzania.