Twice Olympic 10,000 metres champion Haile Gebrselassie broke the world one-hour record at the Ostrava grand prix yesterday, running 21.285 km. The 34-year-old surpassed Mexican Arturo Barrios's previous mark of 21.101 km, set in La Fleche, France, on March 30, 1991.
"At around the halfway point I felt I could get the record," a smiling Gebrselassie said at the finish line. "I felt comfortable the whole way."
On the way to the new mark, Gebrselassie also broke the 20-km world record time of 56 mins 55.60 secs, set by Barrios during his run in 1991. The Ethiopian clocked 56:25.98.