World record marathon holder Haile Gebrselassie said Monday that he won't compete in the event at this summer's Beijing Games because of concerns about the city's high levels of air pollution.

Gebrselassie, from Ethiopia, pulled out of the Olympic marathon because he suffers from asthma, a condition that forced him out of the 2007 London Marathon.

Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie won't compete in the marathon at this summer's Olympic Games.
(Nousha Salimi/Associated Press)

"The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42 kilometres in my current condition. But I am not pulling out of the Olympics all together," Gebrselassie told Reuters.

Gebrselassie confirmed he will compete in the 10,000-metre event in Beijing.

The Ethiopian has won numerous Olympic and world championship titles, and is widely considered one of the greatest distance runners in history.

He currently holds the world marathon record (two hours, four minutes and 26 seconds), a mark he set at last year's Berlin marathon.

Pollution is a major issue facing Beijing in the lead-up to the Games, and Gebrselassie called on China to deal with the problem, saying that pollution "would be a hazard to athletes, seriously affecting their performances."

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge has said that if air pollution is a problem during the Games that endurance events, such as the marathon or cycling distance races, could be delayed for a few hours or re-scheduled for another day.