HAILE GEBRSELASSIE (pictured) is backing Madrid's 2016 bid to host the Olympics and they will be hoping it is a good omen after he supported London's successful attempt to stage the 2012 Games

  Ethiopia's former two-times Olympic 10,000 metres champion and current marathon world record-holder

He said: “Madrid has the potential to organize the Olympic Games."  

Gebrselassie is set to run on the track rather in the marathon in Beijing and said for health reasons

the marathon races should be relocated away from the Chinese capital.  

Gebrselassie who suffers from asthma, after announcing he wouldn't compete in the marathon, said he might

  IRELAND has been spared a potential Dwain Chambers-type drugs row after the surprise decision of runner Cathal Lombard (pictured) to retire from the sport.

He was instead expected to focus on achieving the Olympic qualifying standard in the marathon.    

When it became apparent that Lombard might qualify for Beijing it caused panic within the Olympic movement

Unlike the British Olympic Association, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) does not have a rule that

after world record holder Haile Gebrselassie (pictured) was told today that he may have to run the marathon

He said that he will instead wait until London 2012 before he runs in the Olympic marathon.  

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said his withdrawal was fully justified and that no one could

"It is not up to Haile Gebrselassie to decide on participation in the marathon event in Beijing," EAF

The twice Olympic 10,000 metres champion is one of a long list of athletes and officials to have voiced

statement he made on Monday saying that it would be Gebrselassie's own choice whether to run in the marathon

  BRITISH ATHLETES will not be allowed to wear face masks to combat the pollution at this year's Olympics in Beijing, senior officials vowed today.

  Ethiopia's world record holder for the marathon Haile Gebrselassie pulled out of the marathon earlier

But Colin Moynihan, the chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), said that athletes would be

"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have made it clear that they will be monitoring conditions

continue research into helping British athletes prepare to compete in Beijing despite the International Olympic

Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, who suffers from exercise-related asthma, said last

Ljungqvist said athletes, like Britain's women's world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe, suffering

Colin Moynihan, the chairman of the British Olympic Association, said last week that British athletes

  ANOTHER venue to be used for the London 2012 Olympics is to stage a major half-marathon this autumn

  The Royal Parks Foundation, in partnership with Brakes, is launching the first half marathon to

Earlier this year a half-marathon featuring 10,000 runners was launched around the O2, formerly the Millennium

Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon race ambassadors include Daley Thompson, Zac Goldsmith, James Cracknell

  HAILE GEBRSELASSIE (pictured) will save himself for an Olympic marathon title shot at the 2012 London

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

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

Gebrselassie's decision highlights the pollution problem in Beijing after International Olympic Committee

invite athletes who have been convicted of serious doping offences.The race directors of the World Marathon

qualify for the World Indoor Championships, 60 metres, which start tomorrow in Valencia, is not the Olympic

sports has seemed to be the last to shed its amateur roots.The British Olympic Association (BOA) has

steadfastly clung to its Olympian pledge not to soil the British Olympic team with drug cheats.Nearly

But as more Olympic sports see their sponsors getting nervous or leaving, their fan base eroding, many

  A DWAIN CHAMBERS-TYPE drugs row over Olympic selection is brewing in Ireland.

weekend when he won the National Cross Country Championships and now the fear is that he will achieve the Olympic

qualifying time of 2 hours 15 minutes at the Rotterdam Marathon next month and qualify for the Beijing

Unlike the British Olympic Association, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) does not have a rule that

He said: "For us and a lot of Olympic federations around Europe, we are all looking at this issue more

  ETHIOPIAN legend Haile Gebrselassie (pictured) is ready to miss this year's Olympics in Beijing to extend his career until London in 2012.

Gebrselassie is the marathon world record holder, having moved up to the distance in 2004 following his

However the Ethiopian distance great, a four-time world champion and double Olympic champion in the 10,000m

"Maybe he will run the marathon, or the 10,000 metres or both.  

The issue of pollution is one of the International Olympic Commitee's biggest concerns ahead of this

Gebrselassie set a world record time of 2:04:26 for the marathon in Berlin last September.

  OFFICIALS from Rio de Janeiro submitted documents today in support of the Brazilian city's bid to host the 2016 Olympics, following London 2012.

  Rio is the second of seven applicants to hand over the files to the International Olympic Committee

"We came here to tell the world that Rio is ready for the 2016 Olympic Games," the Governor of the state

Sambodromo stadium that hosts the city's annual carnival parade would be used for the archery events and the marathon

  NOVEMBER 4 - SEBASTIAN COE (pictured), the chairman of the 2012 Olympics, has said that he is not too bothered about Britain finishing fourth in the medals table in London.

  After witnessing at first-hand Paula Radcliffe's sprint-finish victory in the New York Marathon

There is increasing pressure from the British Olympic Association, UK Sport and the Government for the

team to finish fourth in the medals medal in 2012 to justify the extra funding the 26 Olympic sports

SEPTEMBER 17 - ADIDAS are set to be unveiled as the latest top tier sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics on Thursday, insidethegames can exclusively reveal.

London 2012 and adidas will join other top tier sponsors Lloyds TSB and EDF.Adidas' association with the Olympic

1936 Olympics in Berlin and Emil Zatopek when he took an unprecdented triple of 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon

decathlon at the 1980 and 1984 Games.Adidas has also had a long-standing agreement with the British Olympic

  BRITISH swimmers Alan Bircher (pictured) and Cassie Patten took a European title a piece at the LEN 5km Open Water Swimming Cup in London today.

London after a packed week of competition that saw her swim at two international meets - the FINA 10km Marathon

I've got eight months to the Olympic qualification event in Seville and I'm finally back into full training

  BRITISH swimmers Alan Bircher (pictured) and Cassie Patten took a European title a piece at the LEN 5km Open Water Swimming Cup in London today.

London after a packed week of competition that saw her swim at two international meets - the FINA 10km Marathon

I've got eight months to the Olympic qualification event in Seville and I'm finally back into full training