ONE of the world's best athletes, Haile "The King" Gebrselassie, will arrive in the country tomorrow to conduct charity work for the Nelson Mandela Foundation and other organisations.
The former world marathon record-holder will spend three days in the country. The trip was made possible by his technical sponsors, Adidas.
A close friend of South African athletics icon Hendrick Ramaala, Gebrselassie's visit comes two weeks after he was dethroned of his world record title.
Kenyan Patrick Makau bettered his record of 2:03:59 by 21 seconds at the Berlin Marathon in Germany where Gebrselassie bailed out due to a respiratory problem.
Though the details of Gebrselassie's visit to South Africa were still sketchy at the time of going to print yesterday, Sowetan learnt that Athletics South Africa will also be brought on board.
The sponsors' publicist Zobuzwe Ngobese could not be reached for comment but a highly reliable source confirmed that the revered Ethiopian runner will be in the country this week.
"This is a private matter and I have been informed that two major publications are involved in the whole trip, which will see Haile also doing charity work for the Nelson Mandela Foundation," the source said.
"It's a great honour to have Haile in the country and it is unfortunate that budding athletes won't have an opportunity to meet him.
"(But) there is nothing we can do since this is a private visit organised by his technical sponsors."
Gebrselassie, who was in Cape Town in 2009 for the 2010 Fifa World Cup final draw as one of the assistants, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Described by IAAF president Lamine Diack as a sporting hero and genius, Gebrselassie is also involved in various community development projects in his native country.
The 38-year-old will compete at the 2012 London Olympics where he will target gold in the marathon event.
Gebrselassie has won a number of medals at the Olympics in both the 5000m and 10000m events. ASA president James Evans and Ramaala could also not be reached for comment to confirm whether Gebrselassie will be in the country.
Gebrselassie visits Mzansi
ONE of the world's best athletes, Haile "The King" Gebrselassie, will arrive in the country tomorrow to conduct charity work for the Nelson Mandela Foundation and other organisations.
The former world marathon record-holder will spend three days in the country. The trip was made possible by his technical sponsors, Adidas.
A close friend of South African athletics icon Hendrick Ramaala, Gebrselassie's visit comes two weeks after he was dethroned of his world record title.
Kenyan Patrick Makau bettered his record of 2:03:59 by 21 seconds at the Berlin Marathon in Germany where Gebrselassie bailed out due to a respiratory problem.
Though the details of Gebrselassie's visit to South Africa were still sketchy at the time of going to print yesterday, Sowetan learnt that Athletics South Africa will also be brought on board.
The sponsors' publicist Zobuzwe Ngobese could not be reached for comment but a highly reliable source confirmed that the revered Ethiopian runner will be in the country this week.
"This is a private matter and I have been informed that two major publications are involved in the whole trip, which will see Haile also doing charity work for the Nelson Mandela Foundation," the source said.
"It's a great honour to have Haile in the country and it is unfortunate that budding athletes won't have an opportunity to meet him.
"(But) there is nothing we can do since this is a private visit organised by his technical sponsors."
Gebrselassie, who was in Cape Town in 2009 for the 2010 Fifa World Cup final draw as one of the assistants, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Described by IAAF president Lamine Diack as a sporting hero and genius, Gebrselassie is also involved in various community development projects in his native country.
The 38-year-old will compete at the 2012 London Olympics where he will target gold in the marathon event.
Gebrselassie has won a number of medals at the Olympics in both the 5000m and 10000m events. ASA president James Evans and Ramaala could also not be reached for comment to confirm whether Gebrselassie will be in the country.
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