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That is not enough. Sport has been great for me, a great learning place that if you want to achieve you can, even if you are from the poorest part of Africa.

Haile Gebrselassie

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Haile Gebrselassie
Age: 51
Born: 1973
Born: April 18
Athletics Competitor
Long-Distance Runner
Marathon Runner
Olympic Athlete
Asela
Haile Gebrselassie
Learning
Sports
Place
Part
Enough
Poorest
Great
Africa
Even
Sport
Achieve

More quotes by Haile Gebrselassie

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In the marathon a crazy athlete can just keep pushing from the beginning, at a championship you don't need a time just to win the race.
Haile Gebrselassie
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First, do enough training. Then believe in yourself and say: I can do it. Tomorrow is my day. And then say: the person in front of me, he is just a human being as well he has two legs, I have two legs, that is all. That is mentally how you prepare.
Haile Gebrselassie
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If your body is damaged, wounded, it can be fixed, but if inside, mentally, you are wounded you cannot fix it, it's hard.
Haile Gebrselassie
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My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money. Then I won a Mercedes at the world championships and I gave it to him. From the moment it arrived my father said: 'Good, you can support not just yourself but me too'.
Haile Gebrselassie
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Some people start a sport just to reduce weight, or some say, 'My doctor ordered me to run and do exercise', and for others, they run for completely different benefits. But it is not like that with sport. We need to eat, we need to rest, but also we need to run.
Haile Gebrselassie
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For me a day without training is like a day without eating.
Haile Gebrselassie
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I know what I want when I start a marathon: to win! But what do you want? Make sure you're clear in advance and don't go out too fast.
Haile Gebrselassie
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When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time.
Haile Gebrselassie
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The more you are getting older, you lose a little something. Of course there is another advantage, because of your long experience you can use it.
Haile Gebrselassie
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When I had no shoes I was comfortable - I used to run barefoot. When I wore shoes it was difficult. To run in shoes was ok, but at the beginning of my career it was hard.
Haile Gebrselassie
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My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money.
Haile Gebrselassie
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When I run in Ethiopia, I look out and see eucalyptus trees and rivers.
Haile Gebrselassie
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My school was six miles away from where I lived on the farm. I had to walk and run, there and back every day, through gorges and over rivers. If I was late, there was a very big stick waiting for me.
Haile Gebrselassie
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I love running and I will always run.
Haile Gebrselassie
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I feel a social responsibility. We need to open people's eyes. There is a lack of education in Ethiopia.
Haile Gebrselassie
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It is not my duty to spend my money in my country, but it is what I want to do. There is nowhere else I would like to invest.
Haile Gebrselassie
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I will always listen to my coaches. But first I listen to my body. If what they tell me suits my body, great. If my body doesn't feel good with what they say, then always my body comes first.
Haile Gebrselassie
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What can you do if a part of it is uphill? You can't work out another route. You've just got to run the one they give you. But they tell me London is a nice course. Even the cobbles, I hope, are not very much of a problem for me.
Haile Gebrselassie
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Like some high official, you have to tell your brain: 'Do it. Come on. I have to do it.'
Haile Gebrselassie
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When you promise something, you must fulfill it.
Haile Gebrselassie