Haile Gebrselassie: "The first thing I want is to race again on the track to feel the crowd and the atmosphere. If there is a possibility to win, I will go for it." - Reuters

london (reuters)

Former world and Olympic 10,000 metres champion Haile Gebrselassie will make his first competitive appearance on the track in almost three years when he runs at Saturday's Hengelo meeting.

Gebrselassie, who retired from the track to concentrate on road running after the 2004 Athens Olympics, will contest the 10,000 metres, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on it's website.

"Of course, I am not as good any longer as I was at the end of the 1990s when I broke world records," the 34-year-old Ethiopian was quoted as saying on www.iaaf.org.

"But Hengelo is my favourite race. I am training well and I have done training sessions on the track again.

"People must not expect that I will attack the world record," added the Berlin and Fukuoka marathon champion.

"The first thing I want is to race again on the track to feel the crowd and the atmosphere. If there is a possibility to win, I will go for it."

Hengelo, in the Netherlands, was the scene for three of Gebrselassie's world records - the 10,000 in 1995 and 1998 and the 5,000 in 1994.

The twice Olympic champion will be up against compatriot and Athens silver medallist Sileshi Sihine and Kenyan Sammy Kipketer in a top-class field.