Haile Gebrselassie
Ethiopia
Track & Field Gold Medal Contender for the 2008 Beijing Olympics; Events: 10,000m, marathon
Professional Information
Professional Areas:
Athletics
Position:
Athlete
Working primarily in:
Ethiopia
Biographical Information
Haile Gebrselassie
(At a Glance)
Date of Birth: Apr/18/1973
Gender: male
Place of Origin: Ethiopia
As one of Ethiopia's greatest long distance runners of all time, two-time gold medalist Haile Gebrselassie is one of the top contenders in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He currently holds the world marathon record 2:04:26 (4:44.8 per-mile average).
As one of ten children growing up on a farm, Gebrselassie used to run 10 km to school every morning and 10 km back every night. Running with schoolbooks lead him to develop a distinctive running posture, his left arm taking on a crooked shape. A hero in Ethiopia, Gebrselassie is also an active advocate for clean water projects in rural areas of Ethiopia.