Haile, Khannouchi, Komen and Tanui in big gathering of greats

In Addis Ababa

Former world record holders - Moses Tanui and Daniel Komen of Kenya, and Moroccan-born American Khalid Khannouchi - are set for a big reunion with one of their greatest competitors on the track, Ethiopia’s athletics legend Haile Gebrselassie, at the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa on Sunday.

Organised by Gebrselassie, the Great Ethiopian Run is an annual 10km road race which has unearthed some of the country’s greatest athletes. This year, the race has attracted more than 55,000 participants. Tanui, Komen, and Khannouchi are attending as guests of Gebrselassie.

Moses Tanui became the first man to dip under the one-hour barrier in the half marathon when he broke the world record in the Lisbon Half Marathon in 1993 when he timed 59.47 minutes to win. 

On the other hand, Komen was untouchable over 3,000m at the height of his career (between 1996 and 1998). In 1996, he shattered the 3,000m world record with a breath-taking 7:20.67 which stood until last year when Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen lowered it to 7:17.55 in Chorzow, Poland.

But perhaps his most iconic moment came in 1997 in Hechtel, Belgium, when he stopped the clock at 7:58.61 over two miles, a mark which was lowered in 2023 by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen who timed 7:54.10 in Paris.

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In 1998, Komen also broke the indoor 3,000m record which had stood for over two decades, when he clocked 7:24.90 in 1998 in Budapest, Hungary. In 2023, Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma clocked 7.23.81 in Lievin, France to lower Komen’s record. USA’s Grant Fisher lowered it further to 7:22.91 in New York in February. 

Gebrselassie, now 52, is former long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals, and four World Championship titles over the 10,000m. He won Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon.

He also earned four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion. Gebrselassie broke 27 records, 18 of them world records, and believes running has the power to change lives, something the Great Ethiopian Run 10km road race has done for the last 25 years.

Khannaouchi broke the world marathon record twice, first in 1999 in Chicago Marathon when he timed 2:05:42, relegating Kenya’s Moses Tanui to second place. In 2002, he set a new record of 2:05:38 in London Marathon. Kenya’s Paul Tergat lowered it a year later to 2:04:55. 

On Wednesday, Tanui remembered the events from 1999 Chicago Marathon when Khannouchi narrowly beat him to the title.

“I still remember what Khalid did to me. I was running on a world record pace and when I reached 40km, I saw him behind and I panicked, missing my last water point. He just surged past me to break the world record,” Tanui recalled when the two met in Addis Ababa.

And as the Great Ethiopian Run marks 25 years since it started in 2001, the journey forward looks just as inspiring as the one behind, the event nurtured great athletics talent in Ethiopia.

It has become more than a race. Young Ethiopian athletes use the 10km Run as a launching pad for careers. Held on high altitude, the race witnesses stiff competition from young athletes who proceed to become world beaters on the global stage.

Gebrselassie envisioned an event where ordinary people, not just professionals, could experience running and a quarter-century later, his dream has become a movement. His vision wasn’t only about sport, but about bringing people together, building a community, and nurturing a healthier society.

The Great Ethiopian Run is now synonymous with colour, unity, and celebration. Each year, participants wearing race t-shirts designed for the race compete in the streets of Addis Ababa, turning the city into one big celebration full of music, dance and energy.

In an exclusive interview with Nation Sport at his office in Addis Ababa, Gebrselassie said the race has grown from an event without a sponsor, to a big annual festival of athletics. He observed that mass participation in the race has transformed Ethiopian athletics, making running a lifestyle.

“We are excited to welcome the world to our race. We target to host 55,000 people in the event, but we still encourage more participation because running is good. Since we started in 2001, I have seen champions being born, and they have gone ahead to do well in various races. That has been the case for the last 25 years,” said Gebrselassie.

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His dream is to see the race continue to grow in the next 25 years into a big city marathon race.

“This race might be a 10km event now, but we want it to continue growing so that even after I have left, it will still stand and many people will be attached to it. Races like London Marathon, and Boston Marathon started a long time ago and the founders left a legacy. I also want to leave a legacy in Ethiopia, in Africa and in the whole world through the race,” said Gebrselassie, who was inspired to take up running by his elder brother Taki.

Some of the athletes who have made their name at the event include Tsegaye Kebede who bagged the title in 2007 and went ahead to win bronze medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin in marathon races.

Former 10,000m world champion, Berhane Adere won the 2003 edition and went on to win silver medals at the 2001 world championship in Edmonton, and at the 2005 edition in Helsinki.

Former 10,000m Olympics champion Selemon Barega, 2003 World Cross Country champion Worknesh Kidane, Sileshi Sihine, who is a two-time Olympics silver medallist in the 10,000m, also made their names at the event.

Through the partnership between Eldoret City Marathon and the Great Ethiopian Run, two Kenyan athletes - Naomi Chepkorir and Kenneth Limo - will compete in the elite race on Sunday.