Gebre
great in Ethiopian Run
By our
correspondent in Addis Ababa
25 November
2001 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - He helped
organise it, he stepped on to the stage
to prevent chaos at the start, he won it
and he did so on the avenue that bears
his name. Haile Gebrselassie took
personal achievement to a new level in
Addis Ababa yesterday morning.
The first Great Ethiopian Run was won by the greatest Ethiopian runner of them all, Gebrselassie delighting a crowd estimated at 500,000 with a brilliant performance in a 10k road race.
In a country where he is the national hero yet few have ever seen him run, Gebrselassie, the double Olympic 10,000 metres champion and four-times World Champion, provided the people with they wanted to see.
Fellow Ethiopian Berhane Adere won the women’s race in another hat-trick of success for the hosts with her followed home by Eyerusalem Kuma and Seble Lidet.
The occasion was a also remarkable achievement for the organisers, Nova International, the British sports marketing agency, who produce the Great North Run.
A field of 10,000 assembled in the central square on a course that circled around the city in a race run at an altitude of 7600 ft.
Crowds gathered from every viewpoint they could, but on a bank in the square 50,000 were crammed in to watch the start and finish. The people of Addis Ababa had never seen anything like it.
But as the crowd were being introduced to some of the stars runners which included former marathon champions Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway and Portugal’s Rosa Mota, who were here as guests, the runners began pushing forward towards the start line.
Gebrselassie then stepped onto a stage by the side of the course and spoke to the runners to tell them to move back.
It took at least 10 minutes and as he then dashed down to the line, the race began immediately; he slipped over, regained his footing and progressed to win.
The first kilometre was completed in 2.44 minutes with Gebrselassie in a lead group that included his teammates Assefa Mezgebu and Kenenissa Bekele and Mexico’s marathon star German Silva.
They reached 4k in 12.22 and then just before 7k, Gebrselassie broke away and the outcome had been decided.
Running into Haile Gebrselassie Avenue, which stretches through the main square here, the man himself dodged one of the lead motorcycles to cross the line in 30.04.
Mezgebu was second in 30.41 with Bekele third in 30.44
Gebrselassie, with a constant smile across his face, talked of the drama at the start.
He said: “You have to remember that so few people here have ever run in a race before. They did not realise that they were pushing and it was making the ones in front go forward.
“It did not affect my performance by asking them to step back. Yes there was a problem but we overcame it when everyone understood what they had to.
“Then when I got to the line at the last minute, the race started immediately and I fell forwards.
“I must have slipped but I managed to get back on my feet by pushing up on my hand.
“I did not panic but in the back of my mind I thought I might get trampled.
“There was great pressure on me today because I wanted everything to be right and the cheering was like running in any major Olympic or World Championship final.
“Next year I want us to be back with 20,000 runners this time.
“What has happened here today is something which not only myself but so many Ethiopian runners have always wanted for so many years but never thought possible.
Adere triumphed in 35:07 from Kuma in 36:10 and Lidet in 36:16.
Kristiansen, the former marathon world record-holder, said: “This race has been amazing. I cannot remember seeing so many people of the streets for one event. I had my camera with me and made sure I took as many pictures as I could.”
Mota added: “It was fantastic. A wonderful occasion and something I am so pleased to have been part of.”
Gebrselassie will now begin planning his next major project-his marathon debut in London in April.
