Haile Gebrselassie Appreciation Thread

This thread deserves much much more posts

Does anyone have a video of the 1997 Zurich 5k with Geb, Komen, Tergat, Boulami, et. al.?

That might be my favorite race of all time.

I can't believe what a great man Geb was. His video's released before the NYC marathon gave me even more respect for him as a person and athlete. I love that he says he ran for the people of Ethiopia so they would have something/someone to look up to. Pure class. And I think it was this selfish attitude that kept him at the top of his game for so long. He was running for something better than his own ambitions. And you could see it in the last olympics. Taking the back seat and helping Bekele destroy the field. Will watch "Endurance" again in appreciation for him destroying human expectations during his career.

I've been paying homage to Haile for years.

The following TV commercial is a classy way to pay tribute to Haile's greatness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJzDPOLXtfs

26 or 27 world records. It's quite an accomplishment. The world of athletics (and not just Ethiopia) will miss this guy.

http://www.squidoo.com/haile_gebrselassie#module7123460

"His generous and warm character provide a perfect example of how to conduct yourself in life with the utmost dignity." - IAAF president Lamine Diack praising Haile Gebrselassie

FogRunner

gebfan wrote:

Great runner. Great man.

THis says it. There's no one who ever put on track shoes that I respect more than him. I had the good fortune to see him in several great races--including the mind-boggling 12:44 in Zurich in 1995--and I'll remember them as long as I live.

I also saw him off the track a couple times, when the cameras weren't around, and he was exactly the same good-natured, sweet person that the media saw.

He is/was both a sublimely great athlete and an extraorindary human being.

I too have been enjoying the show Geb's put on for the past 18 years. I was so sad to see him retire (for good or not) but all careers, even the best, have to end some time. In response, I decided to put together a little tribute to his greatness on my blog. I'm doing one post a day in tribute this week with videos and photos and such. Here are links to the first two:

http://runhockrun.blogspot.com/2010/11/goat-gebrselassie-retires.html

http://runhockrun.blogspot.com/2010/11/gebrselassie-tribute-part-2-early-years.html

Haile G is the Champion's Champion.

Yes, he is even greater than the astounding Peter Snell.

Brendan Foster on Haile:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/9167209.stm

Steve Cram on Haile:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/9167261.stm

The Sammy Wanjiru tribute is fantastic. I agree with Wanjiru, he should recover, peak once more, and take them all on one more time.

I have not read through the entirety of this thread, but wanted to say my piece.

As someone who has publicly questioned Geb's marathon record, I am very very sad to see him bow out.

Geb's career is super impressive, the times he ran, the way he ran, his closing speed, his poise, his diminutive stature... all make him likeable, but there have been fast guys before and there will be again.

What really set Geb apart was the person he was.

Cheeky, smiling and charismatic. People who don't even like running like Geb. He was the man.

Here's part 3 of my tribute to Geb's greatness. This one is on his many championships.

http://runhockrun.blogspot.com/2010/11/gebrselassie-tribute-part-3.html

Fortunately for us I doubt he'll stay retired.

Top 3 races for me

Atlanta 1996 with Tergat (and Hissou most of the way) was incredible. Last 5000 in about 13:12 - open 5000 was won in 13:08 I think. It was unreal. Same night MJ won his first individual medal when we won the 400. Same night Carl Lewis won his 4th straight Oly LJ.

Zurich 95 - crushing the world record - it was insane. 12:55 to 12:44 or something like that. It was like Bob Beamon or MJ's 19:32.

Zurich 97 - dropping a kick on Daniel Komen in the final 250 for a new WR. He passed Komen like he was standing still. Komen won other races after that but he was never the same - he knew he could not beat Haile.

When I saw the press conference I was as shocked as anyone here. I felt like someone had died! I think the thing that always struck me the most (running aside) was that smile! The man smiled with his whole body. Before the race, after the race (even if he got beaten), he just seemed full of joy. Even though I'm a hack, I always smile at the end of races as a tribute to him and I always will. It's an odd thing to say about someone I have never, nor probably ever will meet (and a man to boot), but I can truly say I love that little fellow. I really do.

My favorite 3 races;

1) Hallie retaking the 5000M record in 12.39.36 including a sub 4 last 4 laps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnyx06yjhU4

2) Sydney 10000M - Legend

3) Hallie pressing his teammates during the second half of the 2003 10000 WC. He set kenny up for the win and ran a 12.58 second half split.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njGGvaxZSro

to those who are mourning about selasie retirement, you should stop right now , because i know haile and he is goin no where,he is running tokyo next year and olympics 2012....he was just emotional for tht loss or lets say un ccomplished mission.............it happens to runners or people who love what they do best,,,,,thats why we call ourselves sportsmen

king of the distances! Geb is the best regardless what anyone says.

Also here's awesome video go to 3 minutes to see geb.

dathan is also in the video when he won footlocker, pretty cool footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eXqAWjJ_dE

Here's part 4 of my Geb tribute. Some good videos here.

http://runhockrun.blogspot.com/2010/11/gebrselassie-tribute-part-4-records.html

What an amazing athlete.

Here's the 5th installment of my Gebrselassie tribute with videos of his tremendous finishing sprint!

http://runhockrun.blogspot.com/2010/11/gebrselassie-tribute-part-5-kick.html

Gebrselassie Tribute part 6:

http://runhockrun.blogspot.com/2010/11/gebrselassie-tribute-part-5-roads.html