Haile Gebrselassie Short biography
Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian former long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Championship titles over 10,000 meters. Haile triumphed in the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon. He also earned four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion.
Haile had major competition wins at distances between 1,500 meters 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 meters to the marathon, set 27 world records, and is regarded as one of the greatest long-distance runners in history. He won the 2008 Berlin Marathon with a world record time of 2:03:59, breaking his world record by 27 seconds. The record stood for three years. Haile's 10,000 m Masters age group world record remains unchallenged since 2008. Due to his various achievements in track & road running events, many called him as the "Emperor of the Distance Running"
Haile was cited as one of the top 100 most influential Africans by New African in 2011. During the Hachalu Hundessa riots in 2020, Oromo mobs targeted the businesses and properties of non-Oromos. Haile's hotels and resorts were burned and 400 employees lost their jobs. In 2021, amid the Tigray War, he pledged to join the fight against the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
