Haile Gebrselassie
ETHIOPIA
BIRTHDATE:
April 18, 1973
PERSONAL BEST:
2:05:56 (Berlin, 2006)
CAREER NOTES:
A beautifully smooth runner, Gebrselassie became the world’s supreme distance runner. At 10,000m he won four successive world titles, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 as well as the Olympic titles of 1996 and 2000. Despite no races for nearly a year due to an Achilles tendon injury, he still took the bronze medal in the 2001 World 10,000m and he was 2nd to Kenenisa Bekele in a magnificent race in 2003. He also won the World silver medal at 5000m in 1993 and the World Indoor 3000m in 1997 before an amazing World Indoor double win at 1500m and 3000m in 1999. He also won the World Indoor 3000m in 2003. In intense rivalry with several talented Kenyans and Moroccans he has taken huge chunks off world records or bests, with 20 in all (9 outdoor track, 4 indoor, 4 road).
After finishing a place behind Ismael Kirui at two successive World Junior cross-country championships (8th in 1991, 2nd in 1992), he outkicked his rival to complete a brilliant 5000m and 10,000m track double at the 1992 World Juniors. His first world record was 12:56.96 for 5000m at Hengelo in 1994 before an epic season in 1995. On the track he started with a world best for 2 miles in the Netherlands, home of his manager, Jos Hermens, and then took 8.7 secs off the 10,000m record with 26:43.53 at Hengelo, and regained the 5000m record with 12:44.39 in Zürich, taking 10.91 secs off the mark that Moses Kiptanui had run earlier in the year. In between these epic feats he won the World 10,000m title, running the last 200m in 25.1! In 1997 he ran the second fastest ever indoor 1500m with 3:31.76 in Stuttgart and, after another two miles world best of 8:01.08, he took 6.76 off the world 10,000m record in Oslo, running 26:31.32. Then he won his third world 10,000m title in superb style and took the 5000m record down to 12:41.86 in Zürich. Once again his goals were re-set, however, by the Kenyans, Daniel Komen (5000m) and Paul Tergat (10,000m) a week later. Few doubted that the tiny (1.64m) Ethiopian would be back to reclaim these records, and he did just that in 1998 with 12:39.36 at Helsinki and 26:22.75 at Hengelo.
He has turned to longer distances, and won the world half marathon title in 2001 in 60:03. He improved to 59:41 at Lisbon in April 2002, before making his marathon debut (apart from a 2:48 at the age of 15 in 1988) in London, coming third in 2:06:35 to make him the sixth fastest ever. He then missed the summer season through injury but returned with a world 10km road best of 27:02 at Doha, Qatar in December for a reward of $1 million. In 2004 he was below his best through injury, but still took fifth in the Olympic 10,000m and in 2005 he set a world best for 10 miles on the roads with 44:24 at Tilburg before breaking the Ethiopian marathon record when he won at Amsterdam in 2:06:20. He started 2006 with a world record 58:55 for half marathon at Phoenix in January and followed that with a world record for 25km in 1:11:37 in the Netherlands on March 12th.
Gebrselassie posted a new personal record at the real,- BERLIN MARATHON on September 24 winning in 2:05:56. It was the third-best time on the German course and the seventh fastest men's finish of all time.
HIGHLIGHTS:
24/09/06 real,- BERLIN MARATHON 1st 2:05:56
23/04/06 Flora London Marathon 9th 2:09:05
16/10/05 Amsterdam Marathon 1st 2:06:20
14/04/02 Flora London Marathon 3rd 2:06:35
