ADDIS ABABA, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie on Wednesday explained the reason for his pullout of Olympic marathon in Beijing this August, saying that on Sept. 28 at the 2008 Berlin Marathon he wants to improve his own world record time for the marathon.

    Gebrselassie, one of the greatest long-distance runners the world has ever seen, also vowed to attend the Beijing Olympics even if he could not qualify for the men's 10,000 meters race.

    "Every sportsman wants to attend Olympic events. So do I," he said.

    He said he will be attending the Beijing Olympics even if he fails to attend as an athlete.

    Gebrselassie broke the world record for the marathon (2:04:26) at the Berlin Marathon in 2007.