Haile Gebrselassie, the diminutive Ethiopian with a winning personality, was already guaranteed an exalted position in the Athletics’ Hall of Fame, following his string of world records, Olympic and world titles stretching from 1500 to 10,000m. When he was growing up, his father would forbid him from running.
Not just that, he would be locked up for days without food, a sort of ordeal by fire that prepared him for the real profession.
At 15, he ran his first marathon in Addis Ababa, wearing street shoes. He touched two hours 48 minutes, taking a 200km bus trip back to his village and hobbling the last few kilometres in agony. His great journey had just begun.
After many impressive performances at various international meets, including the World Championships, Haile struck his first Olympic gold medal in an epic encounter with his great rival Paul Tergat at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In a scenario which was to become the norm for much of their careers, Haile managed to outkick Tergat over the final lap to take gold by 0.83 seconds in an Olympic record time of 27:07.34.
But many hold that the defining moment of Haile’s career came on ‘Magic Monday’ in Sydney. Struggling with an Achilles problem in the lead up to the Games, he was locked in an epic head-to-head with his old rival. The Kenyan completed the final 200m in 26.3 seconds but Haile trumped him to complete the final half-lap in just 25.4 seconds to secure victory in the final stride.
He successfully defended his Olympic title by just 0.09 second – less than the victory margin in the men’s 100m — in a time of 27:18.20.
