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
sports fun father
My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money. Then I won a Mercedes at the world championships and I gave it to him. From the moment it arrived my father said: 'Good, you can support not just yourself but me too'.
sports want enough
That is not enough. Sport has been great for me, a great learning place that if you want to achieve you can, even if you are from the poorest part of Africa.
sports commitment hard-work
You need three things to win: discipline, hard work and, before everything maybe, commitment. No one will make it without those three. Sport teaches you that.
sports running exercise
Some people start a sport just to reduce weight, or some say, 'My doctor ordered me to run and do exercise', and for others, they run for completely different benefits. But it is not like that with sport. We need to eat, we need to rest, but also we need to run.
expect minutes plan race run second
That was our plan. We didn't expect the first part of the race to be fast. Our plan was for the second part. My plan was to run under 59 minutes and that is what we did.
champion good learn london marathon olympic opinions paul runners winner
I can learn a lot from Paul. I need him to get his opinions. There are other good runners ? the Olympic and world champion and the London Marathon winner ? but with Paul there, it's good for us.
certainly chasing london record
I am still chasing the world record but London will certainly not be the place.
field given last london next parade record strong
When we parade in London next month, a world record will be the last thing on our minds, more so given the strong field that will be running.
last record
When we race in London a world record will be the last thing on our minds.
came change grown oh possible time yes
Oh yes, yes they did, but it came from a long time ago, it was not possible for me to change it. Me and the style, we have grown together.
gives love
I love the music. It gives you energy.
competitor learn learnt needed paul prepared ran
I needed Paul in the race, not only because he is my competitor but because he is my friend. When I see him run, I can learn a lot from him. When he ran the world record, I learnt from how he ran and how he prepared for it. I need him to get experience.
last next
If it happens, wonderful. If not, what can I do?. This is not my first competition. It's not my last competition. I will try for it next time. We'll see.
world hard business-world
I find the business world hard.