Q & A #33 How many World Records Does Haile Gebrselassie have

Answer:  27 World Records

Haile Gebrselassie (Amharic: ኃይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, haylē gebre silassē; born 18 April 1973) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance trackand road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon. Further to this, he won four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion.

Haile had major competition wins at distances between 1500 metres and the marathon, moving from outdoor, indoor and cross country running to road running in the latter part of his career. He broke 61 Ethiopian national records ranging from 800 metres to the marathon, set 27 world records, and is widely regarded as the greatest distance runner in history.[2][3][4][5][6]

In September 2008, at the age of 35, he won the Berlin Marathon with a world record time of 2:03:59, breaking his own world record by 27 seconds. The record stood for three years. Since he was over the age of 35, that mark still stands as the Masters Age group world record.

International competitions[edit]

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Ethiopia
1991World Cross Country ChampionshipsAntwerp, Belgium8thJunior race (8.415 km)24:23
1992World Cross Country ChampionshipsBoston, United States2ndJunior race (7.8 km)23:35
World Junior ChampionshipsSeoul, South Korea1st5000m13:36.06
1st10,000m28:03.99
1993World Cross Country ChampionshipsAmorebieta, Spain7thSenior race (11.75 km)33:23
African ChampionshipsDurban, South Africa2nd5000 metres13:10.41
3rd10,000 metres27:30.17
World ChampionshipsStuttgart, Germany2nd5000 metres13:03.17
1st10,000 metres27:46.02
1994World Cross Country ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary3rdSenior race (12.02 km)34:32
World Road Relay ChampionshipsLitochoro, Greece2ndMarathon relay1:58:51
1995World Cross Country ChampionshipsDurham, England4thSenior race34:26
World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden—5000 metresDNS
1st10,000 metres27:12.95
1996World Cross Country ChampionshipsStellenbosch, South Africa5thSenior race (12.15 km)34:28
Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States—5000 metresDNS
1st10,000 metres27:07.34
1997World Indoor ChampionshipsParis, France1st3000 metres7:34.71
World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece1st10,000 metres27:24.58
1999World Indoor ChampionshipsMaebashi, Japan1st1500 metres3:33.77
1st3000 metres7:53.57
World ChampionshipsSeville, Spain1st10,000 metres27:57.27
2000Olympic GamesSydney, Australia1st10,000 metres27:18.20
2001World ChampionshipsEdmonton, Canada3rd10,000 metres27:54.41
World Half Marathon ChampionshipsBristol, England1stHalf marathon1:00:03
2003World Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, England1st3000 metres7:40.97
World ChampionshipsParis, France2nd10,000 metres26:50.77
2004Olympic GamesAthens, Greece5th10,000 metres27:27.70
2008Olympic GamesBeijing, China6th10,000 metres27:06.68

Marathon performances[edit]

YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
Representing  Ethiopia
2002London Marathon3rd2:06:35
2005Amsterdam Marathon1st2:06:20
2006London Marathon9th2:09:31
2006Berlin Marathon1st2:05:56
2006Fukuoka Marathon1st2:06:52
2007London MarathonDNF—
2007Berlin Marathon1st2:04:26 WR
2008Dubai Marathon1st2:04:53
2008Berlin Marathon1st2:03:59 WR
2009Dubai Marathon1st2:05:29
2009Berlin Marathon1st2:06:08
2010Dubai Marathon1st2:06:09
2010New York City MarathonDNF—
2011Berlin MarathonDNF—
2012Tokyo Marathon4th2:08:17
2012Fukuoka MarathonDNF—

Track and field circuit[edit]

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1995Grand Prix FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco1st3000 metres
1998Golden LeagueEurope1stJackpot winnerShared with Hicham El Guerrouj and Marion Jones
1998Grand Prix FinalMoscow, Russia1st3000 metres

World record and best performances[edit]

DistanceMarkDateLocationNotes
5000 metres12:56.964 June 1994Hengelo, Netherlands
Two miles8:07.4628 May 1995Kerkrade, NetherlandsThird fastest time ever
10,000 metres26:43.535 June 1995Hengelo, Netherlands
5000 metres12:44.3916 August 1995Zurich, Switzerland
5000 metres13:10.9827 January 1996Sindelfingen, Germany,indoors
3000 metres7:30.724 February 1996Stuttgart, Germany,indoors
5000 metres12:59.0420 February 1997Stockholm, Swedenindoors
Two miles8:01.0831 May 1997Hengelo, NetherlandsSecond fastest time ever
10,000 metres26:31.324 July 1997Oslo, Norway
5000 metres12:41.8613 August 1997Zurich, Switzerland
3000 metres7:26.1525 January 1998Karlsruhe, Germanyindoors
2000 metres4:52.8615 February 1998Birmingham, UKindoors
10,000 metres26:22.751 June 1998Hengelo, Netherlands
5000 metres12:39.3613 June 1998Helsinki, Finland
5000 metres12:50.3814 February 1999Birmingham, UKindoors
10 kilometres27:0211 December 2002Doha, Qatarroad race
Two miles8:04.6921 February 2003Birmingham, UKindoors
15 kilometres41:22 +4 September 2005Tilburg, Netherlandsroad race, not IAAF-ratified
10 miles44:244 September 2005Tilburg, Netherlandsroad race, world best
20 kilometres55:48 +15 January 2006Tempe, Arizona, US
Half marathon58:5515 January 2006Tempe, Arizona, US
25 kilometres1:11:3712 March 2006Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlandsroad race, not IAAF-ratified – no post-race EPO test
One hour run21,285 m27 June 2007Ostrava, Czech Republic
20,000 metres56:25.98 +27 June 2007Ostrava, Czech Republic
Marathon2:04:2630 September 2007Berlin, Germany
Marathon2:03:5928 September 2008Berlin, Germany
30 kilometres1:27:49 +20 September 2009Berlin, Germany

Personal bests[edit]

Outdoor track[edit]

DistanceTimeDateLocation
1500 metres3:33.736 June 1999Stuttgart, Germany
Mile run3:52.3927 June 1999Gateshead, England
3000 metres7:25.0928 August 1998Brussels, Belgium
Two miles8:01.0831 May 1997Hengelo, Netherlands
5000 metres12:39.3613 June 1998Helsinki, Finland
10,000 metres26:22.751 June 1998Hengelo, Netherlands
20,000 metres56:26.027 June 2007Ostrava, Czech Republic
One hour run21,285 m27 June 2007Ostrava, Czech Republic

Road[edit]

DistanceTimeDateLocation
10K run27:0211 December 2002Doha, Qatar
15 km41:3811 November 2001Nijmegen, Netherlands
10 miles44:244 September 2005Tilburg, Netherlands
20 km55:48+15 January 2006Phoenix, United States
Half marathon58:5515 January 2006Phoenix, United States
25 km1:11:3712 March 2006Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands
Marathon2:03:59.2828 September 2008Berlin, Germany

Indoor track[edit]

DistanceTime (min)DateLocation
800 metres1:49.359 February 1997Dortmund, Germany
1000 metres2:20.301 February 1998Stuttgart, Germany
1500 metres3:31.761 February 1998Stuttgart, Germany
2000 metres4:52.8615 February 1998Birmingham, England
3000 metres7:26.1525 January 1998Karlsruhe, Germany
Two miles8:04.6921 February 2003Birmingham, England
5000 metres12:50.3814 February 1999Birmingham, England