Gebrselassie to attempt historic fifth world title

World record holder Haile Gebrselassie has not run a competitive race this year but the Ethiopian says an historic fifth consecutive 10,000 metres world championship gold is within his grasp next week.

"I have checked my speed training and I feel I have good speed, so I decided to compete one more time at 10,000 metres," the double Olympic champion, who has not run since the Sydney Games because of an Achilles injury and a desire to rest, said on Wednesday.

No runner has ever won five consecutive world titles in the same event since the world championships began in 1983.

Pole vaulter Sergei Bubka holds the all-time record with six consecutive golds but Gebrselassie, 28, sounded like someone who thinks he can collect that many, and maybe more, on the track.

"I would love it if I could win the next two or three world championships," he said laughing. "That would be wonderful."

He did not specify in which event he plans to win the additional titles, although early next year he expects to run his first marathon and that could be his distance in the future.

This year's world championship race in Edmonton will not be his last 10,000 metres on the track, he said.

WORLD RECORD

He wants to have another stab at his 1998 world record of 26 minutes 22.75 seconds, perhaps at Brussels later this month.

"I am in very good form at the moment," he said. "The preparations have been very good."

So good that he thought about testing his legs at the London grand prix meeting late last month, but decided not to because it was so close to the world championships.

He has run both a 5,000 metres and a 10,000 metres in training, but would not reveal his exact times.

"Of course, it was under 29 (minutes)," he said of his 10,000 metres run, finally admitting he had run "28:50 something".

"It is not a very good time if you compare with (competitions in) Europe, but it was 2,500 metres above sea level."

He resumed training in January after taking more than three months off. "I was a little bit tired after the Olympic Games," Gebrselassie said.

Even before Sydney his right Achilles was hurting him, he said. "But it is ok now."

The time off gave him a rest "and when I returned to training I was happy", he said.

Now Gebrselassie would like to create a happy ending to his first visit to Canada with another world 10,000 metres title.

"To win four times is good," he said, "but if you win five times, it is the best."