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Addis Ababa: Twice Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie will run in the 10,000 metres at the Beijing Olympics, he said on Thursday.
Gebrselassie, who suffers from asthma and has pulled out of the Olympic marathon over about pollution in Beijing, will also be the standard bearer for Ethiopia at the August Games.
"As I said, earlier, I would not participate in the marathon event due to my health. But I would certainly run in the 10,000 metres event," Gebrselassie, 34, told Reuters.
"I am the standard bearer and it is my earnest determination to lead my country's athletes at the Beijing Olympics."
He also denied speculation he would boycott the Games, saying such rumours were being spun by "people of ill will against China."
"I respect the leadership and people of that country very much," he said.
In a separate interview, Ethiopian chief athletics coach Woldemeskel Kostre clarified comments made to Reuters through an interpreter on April 1 when he said Gebrselassie was "not ready to run 10,000 metres at the Olympics".
"I did not say Haile would not run in the 10,000 metres event at Beijing. What I said was as long as Haile meets the minimum requirement he would run in the 10,000 metres," he said.
World champion
The four times world 10,000 champion retired from the track after finishing fifth in the 2004 Athens final to concentrate on the marathon where he is the world record holder.
Gebrselassie will run in a 10,000 race at Hengelo, Netherlands on May 24 where he will face his compatriot - the Olympic champion and world record holder Kenenisa Bekele.
Earlier last month the marathon world record-holder said he would not compete in the event at the Beijing Olympics.
Gebrselassie, whose marathon record is 2hr 4min 26sec, said: "The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42km in my current condition.
Jos Hermens, his agent, added that Gebrselassie, who has lung problems and a pollen allergy, did not want to damage his chances in the marathon at the London Games in 2012.
Gebrselassie's withdrawal heightened concerns that Beijing's notorious smog will not be cleared in time for the Games in August, when the weather in the city is at its most hot and humid.
A quarter of Britain's top athletes suffer from exercise-induced asthma and some might wear face masks during the competition.
They include Paula Radcliffe, the marathon runner who succumbed to the heat before the finishing line in Athens four years ago. The mother of one has enlisted pollution experts in her campaign for her first Olympic medal.
The International Olympic Committee has said it will postpone or cancel endurance events if conditions pose a danger to athletes' health.
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