The Latest: Gebrselassie says runners could have died

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The Latest on the track and field world championships (all times local):

3.50 p.m.

Distance-running great Haile Gebrselassie says it was wrong to hold the track and field world championships in Qatar and marathon runners could have died from the heat.

Gebrselassie tells The Associated Press “it was a mistake to conduct the championship in such hot weather in Doha, especially the marathon race. As someone who has been in the sport for many years, I’ve found it unacceptable.”

The women’s marathon Friday started at midnight to dodge the worst of the heat in Qatar but was still held in humidity that made it feel like 105 degrees (40 Celsius). Twenty-eight of the 68 women dropped out and one was briefly hospitalized.

Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic champion who was also president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, says “God forbid, but people could have died running in such weather conditions.”