Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassieis a retired Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon. Further to this, he won four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion...
ProfessionRunner
Date of Birth18 April 1973
CityAsella, Ethiopia
children boys sheep
I was the kind of child who worked hard every day with the cows and sheep - I was a very aggressive boy.
firsts runners
I'm a runner first before anything else.
wind perfect victory
I remember in particular my first victory when I achieved a very fast time in what were perfect conditions but since then the wind has always been a factor against me.
running new-york ifs
If you are a really good marathoner, you have to run New York.
sky work-out firsts
I have seen things few of my countrymen have. The first time I went on an aeroplane I couldn't work out how the lavatories worked up in the sky.
running father thinking
My father didn't think running was sensible. He told me running is just wasting time.
world hard business-world
I find the business world hard.
long getting-older use
The more you are getting older, you lose a little something. Of course there is another advantage, because of your long experience you can use it.
running country
Since I achieved something, running has exploded in my country.
running challenges london
This is what I wanted. They tell me that London is the best field in history. I wanted to be part of that. Because everyone will be there it will be a wonderful challenge for me. You can see the best runners, how they look, how they run. For me to beat the best is what counts.
running nice giving
What can you do if a part of it is uphill? You can't work out another route. You've just got to run the one they give you. But they tell me London is a nice course. Even the cobbles, I hope, are not very much of a problem for me.
winning important
What is important is to win.
good-luck long needs
I haven't done a marathon for a long time. So we'll see. I will need good luck.
nervous enough courses
If I don't train enough, of course I'm nervous.