DELDEN _ Kenenisa Bekele ruled out an Olympic 5,000-10,000 double in Beijing on Friday, four years after narrowly missing out on winning both races at the Athens Games.
Bekele claims to be in the form of his life after winning the world cross-country title again, but said tougher competition and a tight schedule ruled out challenging for both golds.
"I don't want to run the double this time," Bekele said on the eve of his world-record attempt in the 5,000 at the FBK Games on Saturday.
On June 8, he also plans to break the 10,000 mark at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
In Beijing, Bekele will focus on defending his 10,000 gold medal, a title which has been won by Ethiopians since Haile Gebrselassie at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
In Athens, Bekele was beaten by 0.2 seconds in the 5,000 by Moroccan great Hicham El Guerrouj in a sprint to the finish line. Many blamed the heavy schedule for dulling his finishing kick in that race.
Few athletes have been able to clinch the long-distance double. But Emil Zatopek did a triple in 1952, adding the marathon. The last runner to win the double was Miruts Yifter of Ethiopia at the 1980 Moscow Games.
