Gebrselassie sets sights on Beijing Olympic marathon

BERLIN, Sep 25 (Reuters) Twice Olympic 10,000 metres champion Haile Gebrselassie has set his sights on the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathon after winning yesterday's Berlin event in a personal best time.

''The victory in Berlin has given me more confidence for the marathon at the Olympics, though I have to qualify for the Ethiopian team for Beijing first,'' Gebrselassie said today.

Gebrselassie clocked two hours five minutes 56 seconds, only 61 seconds outside his great track rival Paul Tergat's world record set over the same course three years ago.

''I was confident before Berlin that I would run well and this performance shows that I'm one of the best in the marathon,'' he said.

Gebrselassie, 33, won four successive world titles over 10,000 metres and set 21 world records before he turned to road racing. He was third in his marathon debut in London in 2002 and eighth in London again last April.

''Paul was lucky he had two men with him late in the race. I admire Paul greatly but I think I can break the marathon world record sometime in the next year,'' Gebrselassie said. He added he planned to run the Fukuoka marathon in Japan on December. 3.

Gebrselassie was almost half a minute inside Tergat's world record pace with eight km to go yesterday but was slowed by unusual easterly headwinds gusting past Berlin's high-rise buildings around Potsdamer Platz between 37 and 40 kms.

''My strongest opponent was the wind towards the end of the race,'' said Gebrselassie, who unlike Tergat ran the latter stages alone after all his pacemakers dropped off.

''From 37 or 38 kms onwards I was running into the wind and it was hard.'' REUTERS DH PM2137