Quotes by Haile Gebrselassie

About Haile Gebrselassie:

Haile Gebrselassie 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.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Age for me is just a number.

Haile Gebrselassie

I think if you come first with a new world record, that is the best.

Haile Gebrselassie

I'm lucky. The best possible place in the world for training is Addis Ababa, so I am home all the time except when I am racing. I like to be there, near my family, my kids, also the real estate business I run with my wife.

Haile Gebrselassie

This is what I wanted. They tell me that London is the best field in history. I wanted to be part of that. Because everyone will be there it will be a wonderful challenge for me. You can see the best runners, how they look, how they run. For me to be...

Haile Gebrselassie

The more you are getting older, you lose a little something. Of course there is another advantage, because of your long experience you can use it.

Haile Gebrselassie

I wanted to experience New York, to look up and see buildings.

Haile Gebrselassie

I find the business world hard.

Haile Gebrselassie

I have to change a lot of things before I become a good marathon runner.

Haile Gebrselassie

I can't change everything by myself but I can be one of the people who are trying to change the situation.

Haile Gebrselassie

What can you do if a part of it is uphill? You can't work out another route. You've just got to run the one they give you. But they tell me London is a nice course. Even the cobbles, I hope, are not very much of a problem for me.

Haile Gebrselassie

I want to go down in history.

Haile Gebrselassie

You must do as your people do. If my people are poor, I must be poor. People ask me, 'Why don't you find a personal coach or a private car?' I can't. Then I won't be part of my people.

Haile Gebrselassie

I feel a social responsibility. We need to open people's eyes. There is a lack of education in Ethiopia.

Haile Gebrselassie

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.

Haile Gebrselassie

I will always listen to my coaches. But first I listen to my body. If what they tell me suits my body, great. If my body doesn't feel good with what they say, then always my body comes first.

Haile Gebrselassie

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 t...

Haile Gebrselassie

I haven't done a marathon for a long time. So we'll see. I will need good luck.

Haile Gebrselassie

Many people know that Ethiopia is poor. When I break a world record, maybe people get to know something else about Ethiopia, something good. We can't make planes or cars, we don't have the materials. We do what we can.

Haile Gebrselassie

If you are a really good marathoner, you have to run New York.

Haile Gebrselassie

You know, I want to help my country. Definitely I can help them, simply by winning races. Sure, they can follow my path to a good career. But for me it is not enough. I want to be more than that. In everything I want to be a role model.

Haile Gebrselassie

Author Bio

  • NameHaile Gebrselassie
  • DescriptionEthiopian long-distance runner
  • BornApril 18, 1973
  • CountryEthiopia
  • ProfessionSportsperson; Marathon Runner; Long-distance Runner
  • AwardsBislett Medal; Princess Of Asturias Award For Sports