Haile Gebrselassie was born on April 18, 1973 in Asella, Arsi Province, which is almost directly in the center of Ethiopia. As a young man, he used to run to school each day from his family farm, a total of 20 km round trip per day. His passion for running began at a young age when he competed in school race, and beat all of the other kids who were older than him (Pettinger). He developed a passion for running after that victory, and soon he would be revealed to the international stage. He was recruited to the Ethiopian National Team when he was young, then later raced in the Addis Ababa marathon and finished with a time of 2 hours and 42 minutes (Kassegne). In 1992, when he was nineteen years old, he went on to win the World Junior Championships for the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Then in 1993, he won the 10,000 meters at the World Championships, and was able to defend it three times in ’95, ’97, and ’99 (successstory).
In 1994, he set his first world record in Henglo, Holland, with a time of 12:56 in the 5,000 meter run (Kassegne). In 1995, he broke his own world record in the 5,000 meter and broke the 10,000 meter world record with a time of 26:43, which beat the previous record by nine seconds. After these two world records were broken, he was an instant celebrity and was recognized throughout the world (successstory). Before this all happened, he placed fourth in a race in England (due to mismanagement of an injury), then bounced back and had a “Milestone Year” (Kassegne). In the 1996 Olympics, Gebrselassie was the man to beat, and in fact almost was beaten. A runner named Paul Tergat challenged Haile in the final race of the 10,000 meters, where Haile won by only six meters, sparking a legendary rivalry between the two runners (Olympics). While he qualified to compete in the 5,000 meter run, he was unable to due to injuries caused by the hard Atlanta track made specifically for sprinters (Kassegne).
In 1997, Haile ran: a two mile race in a world record time of 8:01, a 10k race while lapping other professional runners on his way to a new world record time of 26:31, two more 10k races in first place, and a 5k race creating a new world record of 12:41 (Kassegne). You could say that 1997 was his best year in racing. In 1998, Selassie ran shorter races that included the 2,000 and 3,000 meter races while breaking those world records of course. In 1999 and 2000, Haile did not lose one race, those two years immortalized him in the running world (successstory). In 2001, he began to focus on longer races, and won the IAAF half marathon, and completed his first marathon in London 2002 and finished in third place (Pettinger). Transitioning to the 2004 London Olympics, Haile had an injury that made training for him nearly impossible resulting in him placing fifth in the final race of the 2004 Olympic Games. He then transferred his focus to the half-marathon and marathon which is where he thrived (Olympics).
After the 2004 Olympics, he went on to compete in the 2007 and 2008 Berlin Marathon’s, breaking world records in both races (Pettinger). He also won marathons in Fukuoka, Dubai, and Amsterdam. Haile participated in the 2008 Olympics and finished sixth in the 10,000 meters, however, at age 39, he won the Vienna half-marathon in just over an hour (Pettinger). On May 10, 2015 Haile Gebrselassie retired from competitive running after the Great Manchester Run (Minshull). He is known as one of the best, if not the best long distance runner of all time. He has twenty-seven world records, and has many gold medals from Olympic Games and World Championships (successstory). He released this statement on twitter, “A lot of messages in the news about me going into politics. Yes, I want to be in the parliament in 2015 to help my country to move forward” (Pettinger).
Haile pursued his political passion for a while, and he founded businesses that employed thousands. His businesses were mainly real estate and local coffee shops. He became an Ambassador for some United Nations Organizations and founded the Great Ethiopian Run (Minshull). A few of his accomplishments were participating in the ’96, ’00, ’04, and ’08 Olympics, earning gold in the first two. He earned gold in the ’93, ’95, ’97, and ’99 World Championships (Pettinger). He won the Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year Award in ’95 and ’98, and also received the Prince of Austria Award in 2011 which is for people who make notable impact in science, public affairs, and humanities, and can be compared to the Nobel Peace Prize (Sailer). This man has inspired me, and he has shown me that being an athlete is great, but there’s more to life than sports.
If you are interested in some of his highlights, or more of his story, here is a video!
Works Cited
Featured Photo: Gameplan
“Haile GEBRSELASSIE.” N.p., 03 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Apr. 2020. <https://www.olympic.org/haile-gebrselassie>.
Pettinger, Tejvan. “Haile Gebrselassie Biography: .” N.p., 7 Aug. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2020. <https://www.biographyonline.net/sport/athletics/haile-gebrselassie.html>.
“Haile Gebrselassie Success Story.” N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2020. <https://successstory.com/people/haile-gebrselassie>.
Kassegne, Samuel. “Haile GebreSelassie (Gabe).” Haile GebreSelassie. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2020. <http://www.ethiopians.com/haile_gebreselassie.htm>.
Minshull. “World Athletics: Haile Gebrselassie Retires from Competition: News.” Worldathletics.org. N.p., 10 May 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2020. <https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/haile-gebrselassie-retires>.
Sailer. “World Athletics: Gebrselassie Receives Prince of Asturias Award from Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe: News.” Worldathletics.org. N.p., 22 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2020. <https://www.worldathletics.org/news/iaaf-news/gebrselassie-receives-prince-of-asturias-awar-1>.
Beyond the Single Story 