(06/02/2005)

Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie has won for the second time in a row on Spanish soil, by clinching the ‘‘Mitja Marató de Granollers", 20km north of Barcelona.

The former four-time World and double Olympic 10,000m champion finished the half marathon in a season best of 61.33, ahead of second and third placed Kenyans Samy Tum (62:09) and Abraham Aiyabei (64:26).

Gebrselassie's pace and strength was more than his challengers could cope with and there was no signs of the achilles problem that had seen him on the operating table in recent months.

This was the Ethiopian legend's second competitive race since his fifth-place finish at the Athens 10,000m Olympic final, coming weeks after his recent win in Almeria.

Gebrselassie told the media: "I’m delighted with my two consecutive wins in Spain.

"These two races has been a huge confidence booster for me thinking of the rest of the season. I’ll next run the Lisbon Half Marathon on 6 March."

He has also confirmed he will race in the London Marathon for the next three years.

He was third in 2002 in his first serious attempt at the marathon.