ive never written them off..sure they are a distinct possibility for gold. that goes without saying.
but the fact that they are such a yuong side who have had limited play together does them no favours. they are a chance at gold, but they are definately a chance at flopping out. greece, argentina and spain are strong contenders for gold.
some of these stars also have egos larger than a japanese sumo wrestler, and if they are expecting things to be on a silver platter both on and off the field then they are definately in trouble.
-----Added 26/7/2008 at 01 : 14 : 38-----
looks like gebrselaissie wont be contesting the marathon after all. if the best athletes in the world of this magntude refuse to compete then the beijing olympics wont be the drawcard people expect it. apart from athletics and swimming im not that keen for much else..except the synchronised swimming maybe
Quote:
Ethiopia's two-time Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie has declared himself fully fit and ready for another shot at the 10,000 metres in Beijing.
The Ethiopian legend, who has been battling with calf and tendon injuries, returned to training at the Addis Ababa national stadium on Friday to prepare for probably his final Games outing after winning gold medals in 1996 and 2000.
"I'm feeling very fine at the moment. I just started taking part in sprints and I'm preparing very well to take part in Beijing," he told AFP.
Gebrselassie opted out of the marathon, in which he holds the world record of 2:04:26, for health safety reasons fearing the heavy smog in Beijing.
He concedes that the 10,000m will be a tough race considering the strong challenge from his younger compatriots, Kenenisa Bekele and Sileshi Sihine and a host of Kenyans.
"The competition will be fierce", said Gebrselassie.
"It is not just Kenenisa who will mount the challenge but also several athletes from Kenya and other countries."
Ethiopia's best performance at the Olympics came in 2000 in Sydney where their eight-medal haul included four golds.
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