Gebrselassie Calls Off Short-Lived Retirement

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopian long-distance great Haile Gebrselassie says he has changed his mind about retiring and will compete again.

Gebrselassie had announced his sudden retirement after pulling out of the New York Marathon with a knee injury on Nov. 7. But he immediately began reassessing the decision and confirmed on his Twitter account Monday that he will keep running.

The 37-year-old Gebrselassie says "running is in my blood and I decided to continue competing."

He adds "when my knee is better again I will start focussing on my next race."

Gebrselassie is a two-time Olympic champion at 10,000 meters. He holds the marathon world record of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 59 seconds.

He has said he wants to compete through the 2012 London Olympics.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.