Two-time Olympic gold medallist Haile Gebrselassie has been named brand ambassador of the US $3,50,000 tenth Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, on January 20.
The legendary Ethiopian long distance ace, winner of two Olympic 10,000 metres gold medals and four World Championship titles, will be in Mumbai from January 17 till the race day.
After ending a glorious career in track running, Gebrselassie crowned himself 'King of the Road' in September 2008, when, at the age of 35, he won the Berlin Marathon in a world record time of 2:03.59 seconds, breaking his own mark by 27 seconds.
He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and had three straight wins in the Dubai Marathon. He was also the World Half Marathon champion in 2001.
"I am looking forward to my first visit to India. I am looking forward to inspire all the runners in the marathon.
"For me it is always important to inspire the younger generation. I hope my visit and my history in athletics can inspire the future Indian top athletes," said Gebrselassie in a message.
