Haile Gebrselassie running in the 1996 Olympic 10,000m final. The number he is shown wearing is currently up for auction (© Getty Images)
MonteCarlo Fourtime World and double Olympic 10,000m champion Haile Gebrselassie is arguably the greatest distance runner of all-time but is definitely the most recent of World record breakers having smashed the 20km and half marathon marks last weekend. For the charity auction which began on Monday morning (16), the 32-year-old has donated one of his competition bib numbers from his 10,000m gold medal run at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Currently (9am GMT today) with six days left of the auction, bidding for this item stands at just under $900.
All the auction lots are available for bids for a ten day period via the on-line auction house eBay, CLICK HERE TO BID.
The IAAF’s humanitarian project ‘Athletics for a Better World: The IAAF Stars’ Donation Fund’, offers fans of World and Olympic track and field athletics the chance to buy pieces of unique sporting history.
Fifty star athletes from the Olympics’ number one sport, 23 of whom have been World Record breakers during their career, have donated items of personal memorabilia associated with some of their greatest sporting triumphs to the project whose proceeds are to be distributed between three United Nations organisations, FAO, UNICEF and the WFP.
Check out – http://www.iaaf.org/AFABW for further information.
Haile Gebrselassie
Gebrselassie came to Atlanta as the reigning double World 10,000m gold medallist, the outstanding favourite for the 1996 Olympic title. The final on 29 July 1996 would lead to an Olympic record (27:07.34), a blistering last lap, and the continued emergence of what would become one of the legendary long distance running rivalries of all-time.
A slow first 5000m (13:55.2) was the precursor to a dramatic Kenyan team assault on gold in the second half which was led by Paul Tergat who had finished in bronze behind the World champion in 1995. Yet not even a dramatic 200m burst of speed (run in 29 seconds) just after 8000m or a succession of 62 second laps could dislodge Gebrselassie.
As the bell sounded, Gebrselassie had already swept past his Kenyan rival unleashing his own swift 200m (28.2 seconds), and though Tergat closed on him in the final straight, the gold was gone. The last half was run in 13:11.4, and the combination of extreme effort and the firmness of the track surface meant that the winner’s feet were awash with blood at the finish.
The framed autographed 1996 Olympic 10,000m competition bib number of Gebrselassie is currently open for bid on eBay
