MARATHON NEWS - GEBRSELASSIE OUT, BERLIN FULL
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Organizers of two of the world's largest marathons released important news today, both bad and good.

In Tokyo, organizers of the 32nd Tokyo Marathon said today that world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie would not be able to compete in their race on Sunday.  The 37 year-old Ethiopian star, who abruptly announced his retirement after failing to finish the ING New York City Marathon last November but later reversed himself, bruised both of his knees in a fall while training.  He could be out of action for up to six weeks, his Dutch management company said.

"We have to wait and see how quickly he recovers," Marleen Rennings of Global Sports Communications told the Associated Press today.  "It is going to be tight."

With Gebrselassie out, the top athlete competing for Sunday's Tokyo Marathon title are Kenyans Felix Limo (2:06:14 PB), Paul Biwott (2:07:03), and Salim Kipsang (2:07:29); Ethiopians Yemane Tsegay (2:06:30) and Hailu Mekonnen (2:07:37); and Japanese Arata Fujiwara (2:08:40) and Masakazu Fukiwara (2:08:12).  Japan's Yoko Shibui is the leading woman entered (2:19:41 PB).

Meanwhile, organizers of the BMW Berlin Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, September 25, announced today that all 40,000 of their regular entries had been sold, and only 1,000 charity entries remained.  This year's sellout occurred two months faster than last year's.

Ironically, Haile Gebrselassie is a four-time BMW Berlin Marathon champion.