DUBAI — Ethiopia’s superstar athlete Haile Gebrselassie is looking to break the world record on his return to Dubai in January to defend the title he has won for the past two years at the 2010 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.

The current world record holder, Gebrselassie met with race officials in his home town of Addis Ababa last week to confirm he will return to Dubai for a third crack at breaking one of the most celebrated world records in sport on January 22.

“There are few, if any, greater names in athletics history than Haile Gebrselassie so once again we are proud and delighted that he has chosen to make his next marathon appearance in Dubai in three months time,” said event director Peter Connerton.

Dubai Marathon saw Gebrselassie make his Dubai debut in January 2008 with a winning time that was the second fastest in history.

“I still can’t believe I didn’t break the world record in 2008 — everything was perfect except the pace for the first half of the race, which was too fast — for me, Dubai is a perfect racing venue,” he said.