altHAILE GEBRSELASSIE (pictured) will save himself for an Olympic marathon title shot at the 2012 London Games after deciding the air pollution in Beijing this summer represents an unacceptable health threat, as first predicted in insidethegames.

 

The two-time Olympic 10,000 metres champion and world record holder for the marathon will be 39 in 2012.

 

He suffers from exercise-induced asthma and will not compete at the 2008 Games unless he qualifies for the Ethiopian 10,000 metres team.

 

"The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42 kilometres in my current condition," he said.

 

insidethegames had reported on January 19 that he was seriously considering missing the marathon in Beijing because of the pollution.

 

Gebrselassie's decision highlights the pollution problem in Beijing after International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said last year that the marathons or the cycling distance events could be rescheduled if conditions were too bad.