|
The main photo above shows Haile leading the field during the final
of the men's 10,000m at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The legendary
Ethiopian, a two time Olympic gold medallist in this event, went on to
finish in 6th place in a time of 27.06.68. His compatriots Kenenisa
Bekele (1662) and Sileshi Sihine (1663, partially obscured by Bekele and
Kenya's Micah Kogo) won the gold and silver medals respectively, with
Kogo (2275) winning bronze. The inset picture shows a happy Haile
congratulating his two team mates on their achievement.
Gebrselassie
later commented: "I am very happy to see Ethiopian athletes won the top
two places. Today this is what I can do. I enjoy the race and the
wonderful stadium, audience and the Olympics." said Gebrselassie. It is
hard to say whether I will retire after this Games. I said to retire
four years ago, but I kept running. I really want to focus on marathon
race."
|
.
|
Men's 10000m. Final.
2008 Olympic Games.
|
| 1. Kenenisa BEKELE |
|
ETH |
|
27: 01.17 OR |
| 2. Sileshi SIHINE |
|
ETH |
|
27: 02.77 |
| 3. Micah KOGO |
|
KEN |
|
27: 04.11 |
| 4. Moses Ndiema MASAI |
|
KEN |
|
27: 04.11 |
| 5. Zersenay TADESE |
|
ERI |
|
27: 05.11 |
| 6. Haile GEBRESELASSIE |
|
ETH |
|
27: 06.68 |
| 7. Martin Irungu MATHATHI |
|
KEN |
|
27: 08.25 |
| 8. Ahmad Hassan ABDULLAH |
|
QAT |
|
27: 23.75 |
|
After leaving the track following the 2008 Olympics, Haile focused more on road racing
and the marathon.
His adult marathons included London 2002 (3rd place), Amsterdam 2005 (1st place),
London 2006 (9th place), Berlin 2006 (1st place), Fukuoka 2006 (1st place), London 2007 (dnf),
Berlin 2007 (1st place and World Record), Dubai 2008 (1st place),
Berlin 2008 (1st place and another World Record),
Dubai 2009 (1st place) Berlin 2009 (1st place),
Dubai 2010 (1st place), and NYC 2010 (dnf).
Haile Gebrselassie announced his retirement from competitive running after finishing 16th
in the Great Manchester Run on Sunday May 10, 2015. It brought to an end a 25-year career
in which he claimed two Olympic gold medals, eight World Championship victories
and set 27 world records.
PERSONAL BEST TIMES.
1500 Metres 3:33.73 Stuttgart 06 JUN 1999
One Mile 3:52.39 Gateshead 27 JUN 1999
2000 Metres 4:56.1 Bruxelles 22 AUG 1997
3000 Metres 7:25.09 Bruxelles 28 AUG 1998
Two Miles 8:01.08 Hengelo 31 MAY 1997
5000 Metres 12:39.36 Helsinki 13 JUN 1998
10,000 Metres 26:22.75 Hengelo 01 JUN 1998
10 Kilometres 27:02 Doha 11 DEC 2002
15 Kilometres 41:38 Nijmegen 11 NOV 2001
20,000 Metres 56:26.0 Ostrava 27 JUN 2007
20 Kilometres 55:48 Phoenix, AZ 15 JAN 2006
One Hour 21.285 Ostrava 27 JUN 2007
Half Marathon 58:55 Phoenix, AZ 15 JAN 2006
25 Kilometres 1:11:37 Alphen aan den Rijn 12 MAR 2006
30 Kilometres 1:27:49 Berlin 20 SEP 2009
Marathon 2:03:59 Berlin 28 SEP 2008