Monday, 5 September 2011

Haile Gebrselassie chosen over Raúl for Prince of Asturias award

SPAIN (Agencies) Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrselassie has been named the recipient of this year's Prince of Asturias Prize for Sport. The 38-year-old runner prevailed over ex-Real Madrid and Spain soccer star Raúl González in the final round of voting by 26 votes to three, according to El Pais.
The jury praised his "sporting and humanitarian excellence", and said that "he has been a myth, challenging his own legend until the end of his career."
Winner of two 10,000m Olympic golds, Gebrselassie has also broken world records, notably shaving 27 seconds off his own record marathon time in Berlin in 2008 at age 35. Raúl, who began playing for Real Madrid's top team at 18 and has always been praised for his good manners on and off the field, has made no public comment so far.

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