Gebrselassie pulls out of NYC Marathon and retires

Haile Gebrselassie awkwardly limped up the stairs to the press conference stage, the pain in his right knee making every step excrutiating.

Barely able to prop himself onto the chair, the Ethiopian sat awkwardly at the edge of his seat -- and stunned the running world. Hours after pulling out of Sunday’s ING NYC Marathon due to injury, Gebrselassie announced he will retire.

“When I announce this, maybe everybody becomes a little bit shocked,” he told the packed room of reporters. “I, myself, I don’t want to complain anymore after this, which means it’s better to stop here.”

Gebrselassie, a two-time gold medallist who has broken 27 world records, underwent an MRI Saturday which revealed fluids and tendinitis in his right knee. Though the long-distance runner had hoped to finish, he had concerns he wouldn’t be able to.

"I never think about to retire, but for the first time, this is the day," he said. "Let me stop and do other work after this. Let me do other job. LEt me give a chance for the youngsters."

Gebrselassie pulled away the pack and stopped running near the Mile-16 point on the downhill portion of the Queensboro Bridge after 1:19:40.