Haile Gebrselassie

Haile GebreSelassie (born April 18, 1973) is a long distance track and road running athlete born as one of ten children in Asella, Arsi, Ethiopia. He is considered by many to be one of the best distance runners of all time. His prodigious distance running ability may have resulted in part from the high elevation of his home village: 8,000 feet above sea level.

Early career

Gebrselassie gained international recognition in 1992 when he won the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre races at the World Junior Championships. In 1994 he set his first world record by running a 12:56.96 in the 5,000-metres. The next year, in Zurich, Switzerland, Gebrselassie shaved an astonishing 10.91 seconds from the 5,000 meter world record, which had since been taken by Kenya's Moses Kiptanui. In running 12:44.39, Gebrselassie seemingly put the record out of reach. The very next year, though, in Zurich, an exhausted Gebrselassie, suffering from blisters obtained on the hard track in Atlanta where he won his Olympic 10,000 meter gold, had no answer to the 58 second lap of Daniel Komen with 5 laps to do. Komen just missed Gebrselassie's record while running 12:45.09. The next year, Gebrselassie came fresh off his third 10K world championship gold medal to outkick Komen with a new world record 12:41.86 and a final 200 meters in 26.8 seconds. Gebrselassie saw his record fall twice more--Komen took it weeks later in Brussels on August 22, 1997, running under 12:40 for the first time in history with a 12:39.74.

Related Topics:
1992 - 1994 - Zurich - Moses Kiptanui - Atlanta - Daniel Komen - Brussels

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