Haile Gebrselassie

Haile Gebrselassie

Haile at the Olympic hunger summit in London, August 2012
Personal information
Nationality	Ethiopian
Born	(1973-04-18) 18 April 1973 (age 43) Asella, Arsi Province, Ethiopia
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight	54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
Sport	Long-distance running
Event(s)	1500 metres, 5000 metres, 10,000 metres, marathon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	1500 metres: 3:33.73 Mile: 3:52.39 3000 metres: 7:25.09 2-mile: 8:01.08 5000 metres: 12:39.36 10,000 metres: 26:22.75 Marathon: 2:03:59
Medal record Representing  Ethiopia Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 0 0 World Championships 4 2 1 World Indoor Championships 4 0 0 African Championships 0 1 1 World Cross Country Championships 0 0 1 Total 10 3 3 Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta 10,000 m 2000 Sydney 10,000 m World Championships 1993 Stuttgart 10,000 m 1995 Gothenburg 10,000 m 1997 Athens 10,000 m 1999 Seville 10,000 m 1993 Stuttgart 5000  m 2003 Paris 10,000 m 2001 Edmonton 10,000 m World Indoor Championships 1997 Paris 3000 m 1999 Maebashi 3000 m 1999 Maebashi 1500 m 2003 Birmingham 3000 m African Championships 1993 Durban 5000  m 1993 Durban 10,000 m World Cross Country Championships 1994 Budapest Long race men

Haile Gebrselassie (Amharic: ኃይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ^?, haylē gebre silassē; born 18 April 1973) is 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.

Haile had major competition wins at distances between 1500 metres and the marathon, moving from outdoor, indoor and cross country running to road running in the latter part of his career. He broke 61 Ethiopian national records ranging from 800 metres to the marathon, set 27 world records, and is widely regarded as the greatest distance runner in history.

In September 2008, at the age of 35, he won the Berlin Marathon with a world record time of 2:03:59, breaking his own world record by 27 seconds. The record stood for three years. Since he was over the age of 35, that mark still stands as the Masters Age group world record.