Ethiopia's athletics legend Haile Gebreslassie at his office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on November 18, 2024.
Ethiopian athletics legend Haile Gebrselassie is considered one of the greatest distance runners in history. He broke 29 world records including in the marathon. He won two Olympic Games gold medals, and four World Athletics Championships titles before retiring to venture into business. Bernard Rotich caught up with the retired athlete in Addis Ababa where the 24th edition of the Great Ethiopia Run, founded by the great man, was held on Sunday.
Q: How did the Great Ethiopian 10km race come about?
A: When we started the race that I also competed in and won in 2000, we wanted to create a platform for up and coming athletes to test themselves and showcase their talents. We have so many talented youths who have nowhere to run and it’s easier for them when they compete in a local race and managers and coaches can be able to identify them. We started with 10,000 participants but look where we are now. The race was recently given a World Athletics label and it’s getting bigger.
Ethiopia's athletics legend Haile Gebresslasie (right) and the women's marathon record holder Ruth Chepngetich (left), pose for a picture in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on November 17, 2024.
Q: How big?
A: Having more than 50,000 runners who include foreigners from dozens of countries is something to talk about. It motivates us to continue organizing such races. Since we started the race, it has become a culture in Ethiopia that everyone wants to run in it and it’s not easy to organise such an event but I have a big team that is dedicated to organising a world class event.
An aeral shot of runners taking part in the 24th edition of the Great Ethiopian Run 10km road race on November 17, 2024 in Addis Ababa.
Q: Name athletes who raced at the Great Ethiopian Run and went ahead to become world stars
A: I can say Tsegaye Kebede who won in 2007 and later bagged a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in marathon; Wude Ayalew, who won in 2007, 2008 and 2014 editions managed to win a bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships in 10,000.
Netsanet Gudeta won in 2013 before winning the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships. Mosinet Geremew was victorious at the 2011 edition before bagging marathon silver medals at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships.
Yalemzerf managed to win at the 2019 and 2021 editions before winning at the 2019 All Africa Half Marathon, London Marathon in 2022 and this years’ Amsterdam Marathon.
You can see the list is endless and that has really motivated the upcoming junior athletes to try their luck in this race. You go places after that.
Q: What do you think about distance running these days and the records being broken with big differences in time?
A: Records are there to be broken and I want to congratulate all the athletes doing that because they are working hard in training. Though we have technology that has changed and we have different kinds of shoes that you can’t compare with what we wore during our days. I have all the shoes beginning from the 1990s to date and there is a significant change because during our days, after a marathon, recovery would take a long time but nowadays if you want you can run a marathon after another in a short span. It is possible because of shoes.
We also have the light waves and pacemakers running up to almost the last kilometre. Athletics has changed due to technology and my advice to the World Athletics is to classify the records because it’s not fair to compare my generation with the current one.
For instance, If you ask me who was the strongest long distance athlete, it is Abebe Bikila who ran without shoes and won in 1960 at the Rome Olympic Games. This is because training tactics have changed, equipment has changed, and we also have the drinks which athletes use while training and running.
Q: What are your thoughts on the rivalry between Kenya and Ethiopia?
A: I always say, without Kenyans, Ethiopians cannot do well and vice versa. I’m who I am today because Kenyans pushed me so hard and I can tell you they are very good and strong in training and competitions. Just look at the recent women’s world record, a Kenyan broke it (Brigid Kosgei) before Tigst Assefa lowered it and after one year, Ruth Chepngetich lowered it even more. I’m sure Tigst is hiding somewhere in the forest working hard to reclaim her title and that’s good competition.
Ethiopia's athletics legend Haile Gebresslasie (left) and the women's marathon record holder Ruth Chepng'etich (right), poses for a picture with the Great Ethiopian Run 10km winners Biniam Mehary (men) and Asayech Ayichew (women) on November 17, 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Q: Who are some of the athletes from Kenya that you remember racing against in your days?
A: I competed with people like Paul Tergat, Moses Tanui, Daniel Komen, John Ngugi, William Sigei Josphat Machuka among others. I remember them all.
But the interesting one is when I met Tanui in the (1993 World Athletics Championships) 10,000m race. He was in good shape but was hiding his cards until the last few laps. He surged forward and I was right behind him but I regretted it because I didn’t react early enough. In that process I made contact with his foot and his shoe came off. Angrily, he reacted by increasing his pace but I was strong and responded and won the race in the end. But we are now good friends and I always joke with him that next time, make sure you tie your shoes well so that you don’t lose any of them on the track.
Q: What do you think of Africa organising big races for athletes in Africa?
A: This is a noble idea and we have tried it here in Ethiopia and it is possible because we have a number of races across the year with the climax being the Great Ethiopian Run 10km road race.
We have the Kip Keino Classic World Continental Tour and the Sirikwa Classic World Cross Country Tour events in Kenya now. This is a good development and we need to have more meetings including road races.
