Haile Gebrselassie

On the short list of the greatest distance runners in recorded history, one name that is surely at the top is Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia. Gebrselassie has come from the humblest of backgrounds to become one of the best known and dominant athletes in any sport.

Born in the rural farming Arsi province, Gebrselassie 10km run to and from school everyday served to lay down the physical foundations that would later propel him down the track. And it was listening to an AM radio broadcast of countryman Miruts Yifter’s double gold run at the 1980 Moscow Olympic that instilled in him the drive to be the best.

After moving to Addis Ababa in the early 1990s, Gebrselassie was given a spot on the Ethiopian team for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Seoul, where he emulated Yifter’s 5000m/10000m double gold medal win. The following year, at the senior edition of the championships in Stuttgart, Gebrselassie came away with a silver in the 5000m and a gold in the 10000m. The 10000m win proved particularly significant, not only for the fact that he received a Mercedes Benz for his win, but because “Geb” would go on to win the next three editions of the event: in 1995, 1997 and 1999.

In between those world 10000m titles, Gebrselassie was busy staking his claim as the greatest distance runner of all time. During the 1990s, he set multiple world records at 2000m, 3000m, two miles, 5000m and 10000m, taking the 5000m from just under 13 minutes to 12:39 and the 10000m from just under 27 minutes to 26:22. He showed his fantastic range by winning world indoor titles at 3000m (1997 and 1999) and at 1500m (1999). But if asked on his greatest achievement in this era, Geb would probably point to his first Olympic gold medal, won over 10000m in Atlanta against longtime rival Paul Tergat of Kenya.

Hampered by injury going into the Sydney Olympics, Gebrselassie considered withdrawing, but decided to make the attempt to defend his title. The result was what is considered by many to be the greatest distance race of all time, that once again pitted Gebrselassie of Ethiopia against his long time rival Paul Tergat of Kenya. With little more than a half-lap to run, Tergat swung around wide, caught Geb off guard and sprinted for home. Geb, nursing an injured Achilles, took off in hot pursuit, only to edge Tergat at the finish line by a mere 0.09 seconds (a smaller margin of victory than in the men’s 100m dash).

Following two years of road racing, during which he won the 2001 IAAF World Half-Marathon title and reset the Ethiopian national marathon record in 2002, he returned to the track in 2003, setting a world best for two miles indoors, and recapturing the World Indoor title over 3000m. Outdoors, Gebrselassie broke the 27 barrier three times, one of which was during his silver medal-winning run at the IAAF World Championships in Paris. He continued racing on the track into 2004, while his Achilles injury returned before the Athens Olympics, limited him to a fifth place finish.

Having returned his focus to the roads, Gebrselassie has posted the fastest marathon time of the year, every year since 2005. First in winning the Amsterdam Marathon in 2005, then Berlin in 2006, and most importantly Berlin in 2007, the last of which was run in the still standing world record of 2:04:26. In between, he also set a world record for the half-marathon in 2006, becoming the first man to break the 59 minute barrier.

Training for his fourth Olympic Games, Gebrselassie opened the year by winning the Dubai Marathon in the second fastest time ever recorded, and then the Lisbon Half-Marathon in March. Facing the prospect of a grueling marathon in Beijing, Gebrselassie (who suffers from exercise-induced asthma) has announced that he will only contest the 10000m in Beijing. Though facing many of the younger stars who unseated him from the medal stand four years ago in Athens, it seems if any “old man” can come back to the track and win, it would be Geb.