Haile Gebreselassie, world record holder, revealed that he will compete in next year’s Tokyo marathon on 27^th February, reversing his decision to quit racing during the New York City Marathon at the beginning of November, when he had a knee injury.

Gebreselassie confirmed that he will continue to run until the 2012 London Olympics.

Gebreselassie is widely regarded as one of the greatest long distance runners ever. He has won two Olympic gold medals and four world titles for 10,000 metres. He set the marathon world record in Berlin two years ago.

Apart from his gold medals and records, Gebreselassie also owns his own running club, has established a school in Addis Ababa and employs more than 1,000 people in his home city, where he is known as “The Emperor”.