Ethiopian champion runner Haile Gebrselassie has won the Trier Corrida. The 36-year-old runner is now preparing for next month’s marathon in Dubai.

Two-time Ethiopian Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie has won the Trier Corrida in Germany. The 36-year-old runner finished the eight kilometer race with a time of 22 minutes and 22 seconds, beating out Kenyan runners Shadrack Lagat and Paul Kipkorir. German runner Arne Gabius of Tuebingen placed fourth with a time of 23 minutes and 19 seconds.

On the women’s side, Russian Jelena Sadoroschnaja won the five-kilometer race, finishing it in 15 minutes and 48 seconds.

Twenty-thousand spectators celebrated Gebrselassie’s win in Trier, as he warms up for next month’s marathon race in Dubai. Gebrselassie is an icon in Ethiopia, where he’s seen as a role model for how to escape the country’s extreme poverty.

“Running is a gift that has allowed me to leave poverty behind,” he said.

In Dubai, the Ethiopian hopes to beat his world best of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 59 seconds, which he set in Berlin in September 2008.

(Source: Dw-world.de)