David Powell’s Top Five Haile Gebrselassie Moments

#1        September 25, 2000: Olympic 10,000-meter Final, Sydney
In one of the most memorable races in Olympic history, Gebrselassie edged past Paul Tergat after the Kenyan had unleashed a prodigious kick with 200 meters to go. It hadn’t seemed possible that the Ethiopian would be able to close the gap, but he prevailed by 0.09 seconds—a tighter winning margin than Maurice Greene had in the 100 meters.

#2        August 16, 1995: 5000-meter World Record, Weltklasse Meet, Zurich
Of his 26 world records, this was the most stunning. In the tiny, atmospheric Letzigrund Stadium, with a capacity 22,000 spectators roaring him on, Gebrselassie took 10.91 seconds off the existing mark, held by Kenya’s Moses Kiptanui. Recording 12:44.39, he took a bigger chunk off the record than anyone had in the past 63 years.

#3        September 30, 2007: Marathon World Record, Berlin
After his string of track world records, Gebrselassie would add the marathon mark almost as soon as he stepped up to the distance—or so the theory went. But it proved a long, hard road, and he accomplished the task only in his seventh marathon, five years after his senior debut. In the 2007 real,- Berlin Marathon, he clocked 2:04.26 to erase the 2:04.55 held by Kenya’s Paul Tergat.

#4        March 7, 1999: World Indoor Championships 1500-meter Final, Maebashi, Japan
With a profusion of titles and records over 5000 and 10,000 meters—and marathon world records to come—Gebrselassie demonstrated his extraordinary range and versatility by adding double global gold on the boards. Two days after taking the 3000 meters, he added the 1500 meters in his first championship race over the distance, clocking 3:33.77.

#5        August 24, 2003: World Championships 10,000-meter Final, Paris
This defeat said as much about his fighting qualities as many of his victories. Having won four successive 10,000-meter world titles in the 1990s, Gebrselassie was unseated in 2001. Against the odds, after a season out injured, he almost regained the crown, running the fastest championship 10,000 meters of his life (26:50.77), but was just beaten by compatriot Kenenisa Bekele.

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