Haile Gebrselassie appreciation thread

its a Joke to compare rupp with thre great Haile..Rupp is not even known beyond US.in distance running,he is way down the list.compare him with Sam Chelanga.does he have a world champion? olympic medal? top ten in world crosscountry? any leading time in the world atleast in one season? he hasn't even run under 13:10.so

guys check ya comments

maybe you are right either way i wanna point out to everyone that geb beat among others 10000m specialists inc merga at age 39 LEGEND and GOAT. inspired bekele and countless other ethiopian greats. Humble man and great character also.

So, if anyone's counting, that's 20 CONSECUTIVE years running at a world class level.

14 different years where he either won a world title or had the world lead in a major event.

At the start of 1993, when he won his first world title, the world record for the 10,000m was 27:08 and the marathon word record was 2:06:50.

This year the old man ran 27:20 and 2:08:18.

Here are some of the guys Geb beat in the 1993 WC's:

2nd- Moses Tanui - he actually competed well into 2002

3rd- Richard Chelimo - dead

4th- Stephane Franke - dead

6th - Francesco Panetta - 1987 steeple champion

7th - Todd Williams - great American, pretty much done in 1996

It's 2012 and Geb is still rolling after these guys have been long gone.

On a personal note, Geb was tearing it up when I peaked a few years after college and I haven't seriously raced in 16 years. I can't comprehend keeping it going at a high level for that long.

Truly, one of the greats. His epic battles with Tergat in Atlanta & Sydney were great moments in Olympic history.

He is also one of the best ambassadors for the sport. His joy for running made it a great pleasure to watch him. Here's hoping he will get involved with the IAAF and IOC. As having someone who loves the sport in charge would be a great benefit.

Can we vote him in?

Geb represents all the greatest aspects and virtues of running. His amazing longevity and range are only surpassed by the greatness of his character. Always gracious, cheerful, and winsome whether winning or losing. One of the great signs of a great person is when your chief competitor (in this case, Paul Tergat) has the utmost respect for you. Geb is da man.

Can you give me a crazy running related story?

Well, I suppose the most interesting thing that I've done is when I went to Ethiopia a couple years ago, I got to run with Haile Gebrselassie. It was the most phenomenal experience of my life. I got to know a guy at my university who was Ethiopian and he said, “if you ever get a chance, come out and visit me.” So, I did. I got there and realized that he's famous in that country. During the trip, he kind just mentions, “do you want to run with Haile tomorrow?” I was like, “are you serious? Of course I want to run with Haile tomorrow!” This is about two weeks before he ran the London Marathon and I didn't really want to if he was going to be preparing for all that stuff. I was told to go to his house at about 5 a.m. His house was massive, it was a mansion. We just set off running and he says, “follow me.” I followed him up this trail and we went past these people who own a pair of flip flops and a pair of shorts. They've never seen a TV before and were all saying, “Haile! Haile!” and everyone knows who he is. He just waves to everyone as he runs. For me it's sprinting up. We run by Tirunesh and Bekele and he is asking me if I know who they are. Of course I know who they are. He's just an absolute hero. We get back to his house and he invites me in and shows me around. I was on my own. He showed me to the bathroom and told me to take a shower and to get myself ready and come out for breakfast. I got to eat breakfast with him, his wife and his kids. We sat there eating pancakes and stuff at the table. He gave me a lift to his work in his Mercedes. It was just so surreal and just unbelieveable.

http://www.flotrack.org/article/1118-Rory-Fraser-KWIK-E

Nutella1 wrote:

oldoldrunner wrote:

27:20 at 39 years old.

M40 WR (according to wikipedia) is 28:30. He can slow down 1:09 min in one year and still get the new Masters WR. Crazy.

5000 is 13:43 - can probably get that one en route.

HM 1:02 and M 2:08 are a bit more difficult but doable if he remains healthy.

Haile is really 42...

If he is 42 his times at his current age are EVEN MORE impressive

Haile has left his mark in the sport of athletics and he is someone who future generations will be judged against. Haile is a great man and has pushed many to do more than they ever thought possible.

Am I the only one who noticed that Geb is facing a possible year's imprisonment?!!! This is crazy! Could it be that Geb is getting too popular, too important, too spirited that the Ethiopia's tyrants are starting to fear him?

there was an issue where the ethiopian government commandeered some of his land a couple of years ago. yes, the ethiopian government does not like popular people. well... do any governments? look what happened to that guy who made the kony video.

Amazing to think that a guy I was rooting for to in elementary school is still running now at a world class level now that I'm pushing 30.

Either they realise he is the most popular man in the country but the article says (if you click on it and read the whole thing) he could just pay a 5000 birr fine and the prison/fine is only if he is found guilty Either way can anyone who reads it and my post not get sidetracked GIVE YOUR TRIBUTES TO GEB THE GOAT

GUH wrote:

Am I the only one who noticed that Geb is facing a possible year's imprisonment?!!! This is crazy! Could it be that Geb is getting too popular, too important, too spirited that the Ethiopia's tyrants are starting to fear him?

Yeah, he's talked about becoming a politician several times in the past, of course they're afraid of him. It's terrible.

Take off your speed goggles you morons. This DOPE was doped to the gills he cheated and drafted in so many races. Then came the lame fake smile with the thumbs up in every picture. What a dope I have 0 respect for this piece of garBAGE!!!

Geb is my favorite elite runner of all time. It's obvious this guy loves the feel of running and thrives on challenging himself.

stick with eharmony wrote:

Take off your speed goggles you morons. This DOPE was doped to the gills he cheated and drafted in so many races. Then came the lame fake smile with the thumbs up in every picture. What a dope I have 0 respect for this piece of garBAGE!!!

Post of the year!

Haile Gebrselassie Faces Criminal Charges of Unlawful Enforcement of Right

http://www.ethiosports.com/2012/05/28/haile-gebrselassie-faces-criminal-charges-of-unlawful-enforcement-of-right/

stick with eharmony wrote:

Take off your speed goggles you morons. This DOPE was doped to the gills he cheated and drafted in so many races. Then came the lame fake smile with the thumbs up in every picture. What a dope I have 0 respect for this piece of garBAGE!!!

The fact that his times are very consistent from 1500 to Marathon and his progression from 1993 to late 1990's on thee track and then his improvement in the Marathon in the 2000's and his slow decline at the end of the last decade into 2011 and 2012 is not what is typical for doped runners.

Move on, nothing to see here.

Maybe rather look at one hit wonders like Kibet, Kwambai, Makau, maybe Mutai (we will see)...