Gebrselassie, Haile (1973– )

Ethiopian long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie. Born in 1974, Gebrselassie has dominated the 10,000 metres event. He has won the World Championship 10,000 metres title four times, and is the first man since Henry Rono to hold the 10,000- and 5,000-metre world records at the same time.

Ethiopian long-distance runner. Between 1994 and 1998 he broke the 5,000-metre world record four times and the 10,000-metre record three times, and has broken more than 25 world records in indoor and outdoor competition. From 1993 to 2000 he won every Olympic and world title in the 10,000 metres.

Career highlights

Olympic Games

World Championships

World Indoor Championships

World Half Marathon Championships

Awards

IAAF Male Athlete of the Year

In 1998, Gebrselassie joined Vladimir Kuts of the USSR and Ron Clarke of Australia as the only runners to have broken the 5,000-metre world record four times. In March 1999, he won both the 1,500- and 3,000-metre gold medals at the 1999 World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, Japan. Following his win in the World Half Marathon Championships in October 2001, he made his debut at the marathon distance in London, England, in April 2002: his time of 2 hours 6 minutes 35 seconds shattered the record for a debut, though he finished in third place. His win in the 2006 Berlin marathon made him just the fifth man in history to run under 2 hours 6 minutes over the distance. In September 2007, Gebrselassie set his 25th world record when winning the Berlin marathon in 2 hours 4 minutes 26 seconds, beating the previous world record by 29 seconds.