Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
New York, Nov 8, (THAINDIAN NEWS) He is often regarded as the fastest marathon runner in history. After dominating athletics for more than twenty years, the 37-year-old Ethiopian shocked his fans and colleagues alike when he announced his retirement after pulling out from the New York City Marathon 2010. The event which reaches its 41st year this time, was held with much elan on Sunday and witnessed the participation of thousands of athletes from all across the globe. However, this year’s event was surely marred to a certain extent due to the shocking retirement of the world-record holder which has come as a major disappointment to many.

The anticipation surrounding the 41st New City Marathon was all the more as this was the very first time that Haile Gebrselassie was participating in the race. Fans of the Ethiopian athlete expected that with Sunday’s event, the 37-year-old noted runner would be able to further extent his legacy by registering his tenth victory of his marathon career. However, destiny had other plans for Haile Gebrselassie as he had to pull out of the race at the 16-miler mark owing to a knee injury.

In a press conference that was held later, the Ethiopian athlete told reporters that although he had never thought about retiring earlier on, now he feels that it is the right moment to bid adieu to his running career. In a television interview prior to Sunday’s game, Haile Gebrselassie had divulged that he was suffering from a knee problem and an MRI that was conducted on Saturday, revealed tendinitis as well as fluids in the joints.