“I will run on Friday and we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters in Athens. “But if it was any other race I wouldn’t have come. I would have withdrawn. The Olympics only comes round once every four years.
“I’m not in the same shape I was in Sydney or Atlanta.”
For many, the 31-year-old, who also has four world titles and broke world records at will in his prime, is the greatest long-distance runner of them all.
Age, though, has a habit of catching the quickest of runners, as do younger men.
Gebrselassie has been overshadowed by team mate Kenenisa Bekele over the past 12 months, losing his world title and his world records in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres to a man almost 10 years his junior.
The Ethiopian’s reaction to Bekele’s emergence? To invite him to come and train with him. It sounded like the behaviour of a man helping his hangman to tie the noose.
Gebreselassie, howver, does not see things like that.
“I’m not exactly his father figure, but I am his friend. And I knew my records would be broken one day, so it was better that he should do it. He has an excellent finishing kick, just like I used to have.
“For us, the most important thing is Ethiopia. It means so much to the people back home. That is why I will run. It’s psychological.”
Jos Hermens, who manages both Ethiopians, was not surprised when Gebrselassie took Bekele under his wing.
“It’s his nature,” he said. “He’s loved by everyone. I’ve told him to be as selfish as he was in 1996 and 2000 but ... He’s too nice a guy.”
Gebrselassie has been smiling for Ethiopia on the international stage since the early nineties, smiling when he wins, and, increasingly, smiling when he loses.
His struggles against young men — he calls them “these boys” — as well as his injuries have convinced him to move up to the marathon after Athens, although he fears he may first need surgery.
Things had looked good last month, when he ran the fastest 5,000 metres ever run in Britain, his 12 minutes 55.51 seconds also being the fifth fastest time of the year.
But the mood has changed dramatically since. Another defeat now seems on the cards.
“I have had to cut back my training. I can’t do the hard training uphill and I have not been able to train with the rest of the team but I will run. I will try. I’ll do my best,” he said.
“I’ll take some pain killer but if it hurts during the race, it hurts. If you have a problem, you just have to take it on.
“Of course I would like to win, but for me any medal would be fantastic. And if not, that’s fine.”
You look into his beaming face, and you know he means it. He got up to leave.
“For me, the best is just to be there,” he said. (Reuters)
