He had won and broke World Records in the City – indoors, but this time ‘The Emperor’ showed he still has the class on the roads as he eased to victory in the Great Birmingham Run on Sunday.
The 38-year-old Ethiopian was back to form with a credible time of over half-marathon distance with 1:01.29.
Making his break at just over half way he cruised to the finish line, with his nearest challenger a full minute behind - Qatar's Essa Rashed in1hr 2mins 28secs with Morocco's Abderrahime Bouramdane in third in 1:03:57.
Gebrselassie said: 'It was a fantastic race for me except for the wind and it was really hard between 11 and 12 miles.
'This helps me in my preparations for next year's Olympic Games where of course I still have to get the qualifying standard. That means to get one of the three places in the Ethiopian team I will have to run around 2:05.
'I am totally focused on getting the qualifier. Today was kind of a training run towards doing that. The three fastest will go to London.'
The women's race was dominated by British athletes, and won by Gemma Steel in 1:12:21, ahead of Louise Damen (1:13:51) and Lucy MacAlister (1:15:30).
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