Haile Gebrselassie - Later Career

Later Career

Since leaving the track after the 2004 Olympics, Gebrselassie has focused on road racing and the marathon. His adult marathons to date include 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).

In 2002, Gebrselassie made his debut at the marathon at the London Marathon. He started the race with a very fast pace, within world record time. He was unable to hold it, however, as world record holder Khalid Khannouchi and Paul Tergat both eventually passed him. Khannouchi broke his own world record, while Gebrselassie finished third.

In 2005 Gebrselassie went undefeated in all of his road races. This included a British All-Comers record in the 10K at Manchester (27:25), a win in the Amsterdam Marathon in the fastest marathon time in the world for 2006 (2:06:20), and a new world best for 10 miles in Tilburg Ten Miles race, The Netherlands (44:24). (His unofficial split of 41:22 at the 15K mark was 7 seconds faster than the official world best.)

Gebrselassie started 2006 positively by beating the world half marathon record by a full 21 seconds, recording a time of 58 minutes and 55 seconds on 15 January. He broke the record, his first one on American soil, by running the half marathon of the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon. During the race he also broke Paul Tergat's 20 km record, both records having stood since 1998. (Gebrselassie passed the 20 km mark in 55:48.) That year also marked another victory for Gebrselassie as he shattered the 25 km world road record (albeit in non-IAAF ratified fashion) by 68 seconds in a time of 1:11.37. The race was organized where Gebrselassie and six other runners would run 5 kilometres and then cross the starting line of the 20-K Alphen race in Alphen aan den Rijn of the Netherlands.

On 23 April 2006, he finished ninth in the London Marathon with a time of 2:09:05 (the race was won by Kenyan Felix Limo, who clocked 2:06:39). Gebrselassie referred to the ninth-place finish as "the worst race of my career". However, on 24 September he came back with a win in the Berlin Marathon in the fastest time of the year, 2:05:56. His time in Berlin made him only the fifth man in history to run under 2:06 for the marathon. This was followed by a win in the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan in 2:06:52.

In London on 22 April 2007, Gebrselassie challenged the 2006 London Marathon winner Felix Limo, 2005 London Marathon winner Martin Lel, 2004 Athens gold medalist Stefano Baldini, 2006 New York Marathon winner Marílson Gomes dos Santos, and the then marathon world record holder Paul Tergat in what organizers anticipated would be an exciting race. However Gebrselassie dropped out at the 18-mile (29 km) stage complaining of a stitch and inability to breathe, which turned out to be an allergic reaction to the pollen in the air. This left the 2005 winner Martin Lel to come home in first place.

One month later, Gebrselassie made a surprise return to the track for the first of two stadium races that summer. In the first, he ran a 26:52.81 in finishing fifth in a very competitive 10,000 metres race in Hengelo, The Netherlands. Then, on 27 June, 2007, Gebrselassie launched an attack upon the world record for the one hour run, in Ostrava, Czech Republic. This record attempt was successful as Gebrselassie passed the hour mark at 21,285 m (13 miles 397 yards), eclipsing the previous best of 21,101 m, set by Mexican Arturo Barrios in La Flèche, France, on 30 March, 1991. Furthermore, Gebrselassie covered 50 laps (20,000 m) in 56:25.98, another world best, well within the previous 56:55.6 also set by Barrios in 1991. These were his 23rd and 24th world records.

Gebrselassie made his running debut in New York City when he won the New York City Half Marathon on 5 August, 2007, in 59:24, breaking the previous course record by two minutes. His win in the Lisbon Half Marathon (59:15) in March 2008 gave him a perfect record of 9–0 in winning all of his half marathons. He lost his first half marathon in Den Haag (14 March 2009), when he was beaten by Sammy Kitwara (59:47 for Kitwara, 59:50 for Gebrselassie)

On 30 September 2007, Gebrselassie won the Berlin Marathon in 2:04:26 (4:44.8 per mile), setting the world record and shaving 29 seconds off Paul Tergat's record, set on the same course in 2003. His victory further energized the celebrations of the Ethiopian Millennium (unique to the Ethiopian calendar), which began on 12 September, 2007.

Prior to the 2008 Dubai Marathon, his manager suggested that Gebrselassie would be able to run a sub 2:04 time for a new world record. While Gebrselassie agreed that a sub 2:04 was possible, he stated that the conditions would need to be perfect for such a time. The event was held on 18 January, 2008, and was won by Gebrselassie in a time of 2:04:53, making it the second fastest marathon in history. However the early pace had been too fast and he was unable to continue at that speed, resulting in a time 27 seconds short of his own world record.

At the Hengelo FBK-Games on 24 May, Gebrselassie ran 26:51.20 for the 10,000 meters to finish a close second behind countryman Sileshi Sihine's 26:50.53. Along with his 10,000 meter performances in 2003, 2004, and 2007, Gebrselassie is the only man older than 30 years of age to break 27 minutes in the 10,000 metres; his nine career sub 27 minute 10,000 meter performances is more than any other athlete except for Kenenisa Bekele, who also has nine.

Because of Beijing's air pollution levels, Gebrselassie decided to withdraw from the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He suffers from asthma and said that running in such conditions might be harmful for his health. Gebrselassie later admitted that he regretted the decision as the Beijing air was cleaner than expected. He did, however, run the 10,000 meters, finishing sixth with a time of 27:06.68. The gold medal went to his countryman and current world record holder, Kenenisa Bekele. The following month, on 28 September 2008, he defended his Berlin Marathon title, averaging 2:56.5 per kilometer (4:43.7 per mile) for a time of 2:03:59, breaking his own world record by 27 seconds.

Gebrselassie won the Dubai Marathon on 16 January, 2009, but fell short of breaking his own world record that he had set four months earlier on the flat course. He finished in 2:05:29, well ahead of countryman Deressa Chimsa. In September that year, he won the Berlin Marathon for the fourth consecutive time. He attempted to break the world record he had set the previous year but, despite a quick start, warm conditions saw him finish in 2:06:08, two minutes away from his best mark. He did, however, pass the 30-kilometer point in 1:27:49, which is a new world record for a road 30K.

In 2010 he tried to attack his own world record for the third consecutive time at the Dubai Marathon 2010. Although he won the race with a time of 2:06:09, he failed to break his 18-month world record. In a post-race interview he revealed that he had suffered back pain, requiring intensive pre-race physiotherapy, resulting from having slept in a bad position. His problems continued at the NYC Half Marathon, where he pulled up mid-race visibly uncomfortable in his running. He had an easy victory in the inaugural edition of the 10K de Madrid in April. He scored his third victory at the Great Manchester Run the following month, although he missed out on Micah Kogo's course record. He followed this with his first win at the Great North Run in September, finishing the half marathon in a time of 59:33 minutes.

He is also mentor and ambassador for the G4S 4teen, a programme supporting 14 young athletes.