The Hindu : Sport / Athletics : ‘Haile’ Kenenisa Bekele

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‘Haile’ Kenenisa Bekele

Stan Rayan

Twelve years ago, a young boy in Ethiopia watched in awe as the legendary Haile Gebrselassie raced to the 10,000m gold at the Atlanta Olympics. Kenenisa Bekele, the 14-year-old, had a loud radio on top of the television, so he followed the race very closely, virtually living through every glorious moment of his countryman.

A little later, Bekele gave up football and began concentrating on distance running.

“Haile made me want to run,” Bekele said in an interview. A few years later, the two were training together and often running against each other. Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic 10,000m champion who set 25 world records in a variety of events including the marathon, often doubled up as Bekele’s translator.

Soon, the young disciple began beating the old master, even grabbing his world records. Four years ago, Bekele broke Gebrselassie’s 5,000m (12:37.35s) and 10,000m (he improved it to 26:17.53s in 2005) world marks within the space of just 10 days before the Athens Olympics.

Crowded mantelpiece

Bekele also won the Olympic 10,000m gold in 2004, beating Gebrselassie, and added the 5,000m silver a few days later. His crowded mantelpiece also has three 10,000m World championship gold medals.

Now, as he heads to the Beijing Olympics, there is talk that Bekele — who has set the fastest time in the 10,000m this year — could even end up as a bigger name than Gebrselassie. The 26-year-old is now angling for the 5,000-10,000 double in China.

He is already the greatest cross-country runner of all time, having won the world cross country championship’s long course race (12km) on six occasions, often with a powerful finish. In fact, the stunning sprint at the finish is his forte.

Family affair

While Gebrselassie is recovering from an injury and appears doubtful for the 10,000m in Beijing, the 5,000m could be a family affair for Bekele.

His younger brother Tariku, the 3,000m world indoor champion and a former World junior 5,000m winner, is close to his best and is No. 2 in the world list this season.

Bekele, son of a farmer, hails from Bekoji, a village nearly 10,000 feet above sea level where the daily grind itself is a sort of high-altitude training. And Bekele is clearly the town’s brightest diamond.

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