oldguy wrote:
The quote is not from Rawson. The quote is from Geb. And the fact that it is not a complete sentence is an oddly irrelevant matter to raise.
This quote is from Geb? "He has had to struggle to reach the highest pinnancle of the sport, but at the age of '24 or 25, I think,' the smiling, delightful Gebreselassie, whose 'official' birthdate is listed as April 18, 1973, has established himself as one of distance running's all-time giants."
The quote is not from Geb but is from someone else who said, "He", "the smiling, delightful Gebreselassie (sp)", "whose", "has established himself", all of which indicate it was not a self quote. Since you said the article was written by Rawson, isn't the quotation from him?
And Rawson, or whoever you were orginially quoting, didn't say who said "24 or 25". It could have been anyone or even himself. He did not even say "Geb said, "I am 24 or 25"".
I had given you credit for being able to read, but now you are giving considerable doubt.