|
Haile
Gebre Selassie is regarded universally as the greatest
distance runner of all times. With a career that sees
him breaking records as they are made, Haile has built
an extraordinary reputation as an exceptional athlete
who is setting a new level in long-distance running.
Haile
was born in the province of Arsi in Central Ethiopia.
Arsi is a fertile region in the central Ethiopian plateau
that has produced great long-distant runners like Derartu
Tulu, Fatuma Roba, and of course, Haile Gebreselassie.
Haile was inspired by his countrymen, the Ethiopian marathon
legend, Abebe Bikila and also 5k and 10k Olympic gold
medalist Miruts Yifter. As a child he had to run 10 kilometers
a day each way to go and come back from school. At age
16, without any formal training, he entered the Addis
Ababa marathon, and finished in 2:42.
Haile
rose to international prominence in 1992 when he won the
5000m and 10,000m World Junior championships. In 1993
at the Stuttgart World championships, he won the 10,000m
and got second in the 5000m. Haile set his first World
Record in the 5000m in 12:56.96 in Hengelo, Holland in
1994. By breaking the 6 year old world record of Said
Aouita.
1995
- Gabe's Milestone Year
1995
established Haile as an unparalleled long-distance runner.
He had a bad start due to mismanagement and bad leadership
by the Athletics Federation which bungled the travel plans
of the national athletics team in a race in England. Haile
finished fourth. However, in May of the same year, Haile
broke Moses Kiptanui's World Record in the 2 miles race
by clocking 8:07.46. Only a week later, Haile broke the
world record in 10K by clocking a new speed of 26:43.53
in a race in Hengelo, Holland. Haile won another victory
in the World Championship 10,000m by earning a gold medal.
A 12:44.39 record in the 5K race in Zurich, in August
brought the number of world records broken by Haile to
four. Before the end of the year, Haile had broken two
world records; one in indoor 5K in 13:10.98, and another
one in 3K in 7:30.72.
1996
- The Atlnata Olympics (Haile wins a Gold Medal and Gets
Married)
The
following year (i.e., 1996), Haile devoted most of his
time in preparing for the upcoming Atlanta Olympics where
he wanted to repeat the double wins in 5K and 10K of his
childhood idol, Miruts Yifter. In Atlanta in the 10K race,
Haile followed Kenyan Paul Tergat around until the final
lap, then he passed Tergat and went on for a gold medal,
in an Olympic record time of 27:07.34. Tergat got silver
in 27:08.17 and Salah Hissou of Morocco got bronze in
27:24.67. However, the hard track in the Atlanta Olympics
custom made for sprinters hurt Haile's feet into leaving
blisters. Haile, therefore, was unable to compete in the
5K and bring one more gold for his country.
However,
the win at the Olympics earned Haile a hero status along
with the legendary Abebe Bikila, and Mamo Wolde. Haile
won more record in the same year. In February of 1997
in Stuttgard, Germany, Haile set a new world record in
1500m by clocking 3:32.39. With this win and world record,
Haile Gebrselassie showed excellent versatility by moving
down and performing so well at an event he doesn't normally
compete in. On Feb 20th Haile once again broke a world
record by clocking 12:59.04 in indoor 5K race in Stockholm,
Sweden. This was Haile’s 7th world record.
1997
- The Million Dollar Race
In
Hengelo, Holland on May 31st Haile and Noureddine Morceli
went after a million dollars, which went to the winner
who broke 8:00 minutes for the 2 mile race. However, Haile
was by himself as Morceli dropped out in the middle, and
ended up running 8:01.08, a world record; but out of the
money. On July 4th 1997, in Oslo, Norway, Haile had an
outstanding 10K race where he had a huge lead by himself,
lapped the rest of the world class field , and set a new
10K world record at 26:31.32. In the following month,
Haile Gebrselassie went and got another 10k World Championship
to be followed by another in Zurich, on Aug 13th, 1997
where he once again won a 5K race by setting a new world
in 12:41.86, three seconds better than his previous mark.
2000
- The Second Olympic Gold Medal
Haile
starts the new millennium with a remarkable and unforgettable
performance in winning his second gold medal at the 10,000m
in the Sydney Olympics. He clocked a winning time of 27min.18.20sec.
ahead of Paul Terget of Kenya.
Source:
http://www.ethiopians.com
 Photo:
IOC 2007. All rights reserved.
|
Back to History | Back
to Top |
|
