Haile Gebrselassie warns against piling pressure on Mo Farah

• Gebrselassie claims media could have a negative impact
• Ethiopian claims Farah will be a contender at London 2012

Haile Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian distance runner considered one of the greatest of all time, has warned against heaping too much pressure on Mo Farah ahead of the London Olympics.

Haile Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian distance runner considered one of the greatest of all time, has warned against heaping too much pressure on Mo Farah ahead of the London Olympics. Gebrselassie, who was forced to pull out of the Berlin marathon last weekend with a respiratory problem and then saw Kenya's Patrick Makau break his world record by 21 seconds, said Farah had a good chance of winning a medal in the 5,000 metres and 10,000m. The 38-year-old Gebrselassie dominated at those distances for a decade, winning gold in the 10,000m in 1996 and 2000, before switching to the road in 2004. But he said that there was a danger Farah, who won gold in the 5,000m and silver in the 10,000m at the Daegu World Championships in South Korea recently, could be affected by the pressure of a home Games. "He is amazing, this athlete. He is so strong, this year especially. He will be the only one to challenge the Ethiopians and the Kenyans come the Olympics," Gebrselassie said. "But don't pressurise him. I know the British media. For an athlete, if it's too much it's very difficult. I know, I've been to different Olympic Games. Look at Paula [Radcliffe] in Athens and Beijing. I don't want to criticise the media, but one of her problems was that you pressurised too much." Gebrselassie said that as soon as he heard Farah had begun working with Alberto Salazar, the coach with whom he moved to the US to train earlier this year, he knew he would be in medal contention.
              The Ethiopian, who is yet to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games, said he is still confident he could win marathon gold in London despite a new generation of athletes snapping at his heels. The lure of winning gold at the 2012 Games is one of the reasons he reconsidered his decision to retire in 2010. Gebrselassie said he was also confident he could win back the world record, believing it is possible to run below two hours, three minutes and 30 seconds. Makau set the new mark at two hours, three minutes and 38 seconds. "When I broke the record it was not the record of Haile Gebrselassie, it was the record of somebody else. I have broken maybe 27 world records. And this runner is especially strong. I was not that surprised when he broke that record," he said.



                     Gebrselassie, who mentors 14 young athletes as part of a scheme sponsored by G4S, said his career would feel incomplete without a marathon gold. "I have two Olympic golds in the 10,000m. But imagine winning gold in the marathon, it's something very important. Plus, it's London. If I stopped running tomorrow without achieving this thing, it would be like I was missing something," he said. "When I switched from 10,000 to the marathon, I was planning two achievements – the world record and the Olympic gold. I achieved one and I'm begging God for the other. If I achieve that, my career is full," he said, but added he would not retire even if he succeeds. Gebrselassie welcomed the decision to move the 2012 marathon from London's East End to the centre of the city, finishing on the Mall, which proved controversial with local boroughs. "I prefer the centre of the city. London is a historical city, you can show a lot of good things here. The stadium is also not that bad, but I prefer the finish to be as it is now, in the centre of London," he said. But he called on 2012 organisers to move the start time, arguing that running in the midday sun in August could be too hot. "The only thing I don't like is the time. 11am in the morning is a little bit difficult. 9am is fine, 11am is getting hot," he said. The Ethiopian, who did not run in the Beijing Olympics due to concerns about the polluted air affecting his asthma, said he is targeting a marathon in either Dubai or Tokyo as his next race.
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