Haile Gebrselassie Quotes

This hand is not very active always, because it was in this hand that I carried my books. My carrying hand was always my strongest. Now I think my other hand has developed more muscles from signing all those autographs.

Always, if you win mentally, you can win physically as well.

I used to run to school, 10k every day. And this at altitude, perfect preparation, really.

Athletes have to be confident and I am thinking like that.

I was the kind of child who worked hard every day with the cows and sheep - I was a very aggressive boy.

You must do as your people do. If my people are poor, I must be poor. People ask me, 'Why don't you find a personal coach or a private car?' I can't. Then I won't be part of my people.

You know for me when I promise something I want to deliver. If you don't, you have to disappear.

Schooling is so important.

I remember in particular my first victory when I achieved a very fast time in what were perfect conditions but since then the wind has always been a factor against me.

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.

If you are a really good marathoner, you have to run New York.

You need three things to win: discipline, hard work and, before everything maybe, commitment. No one will make it without those three. Sport teaches you that.

Why should I say I will retire in three or four years? You retire the very moment you utter those words.

I want to go down in history.

In the rainy season, sometimes to get to the first lesson we had to run really quick, because we had to cross the river to school and we'd have to go up and down the bank to find a place to cross because there is no bridge.

I have to change a lot of things before I become a good marathon runner.

Like some high official, you have to tell your brain: 'Do it. Come on. I have to do it.'

Since I achieved something, running has exploded in my country.

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.

When you talk about world record times, you have to understand that everything must be perfect the weather, the course, the temperature. It is not always enough to be in good shape.

If you're planning only to make money and nothing else, you'll be broke.

The marathon always starts after 30K. That's where the problems start. You start without any problems, without any pain. All the pain comes after 30K. Sometimes, it's possible to have pain even in the finger.

I have seen things few of my countrymen have. The first time I went on an aeroplane I couldn't work out how the lavatories worked up in the sky.

I always tell young athletes the same thing, 'Wherever you go, whatever you do, what must your top priority be? Running.'

Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there.

I haven't done a marathon for a long time. So we'll see. I will need good luck.

When I run in Ethiopia, I look out and see eucalyptus trees and rivers.

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.

My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money.

I want to avoid injuries by running only road.

I wanted to experience New York, to look up and see buildings.

At the moment I am a little bit politician, yes. I think that could be my next step. It is not because I want power, it is because of what I think I could do for the people.

I'm lucky. The best possible place in the world for training is Addis Ababa, so I am home all the time except when I am racing. I like to be there, near my family, my kids, also the real estate business I run with my wife.

I find the business world hard.

I'm a runner first before anything else.

Athletics is in my blood.

When I wake up at 5 in the morning is it just to jog? Definitely not, I give it all of my efforts.

Eradicate poverty. This is all that matters in my country. When I am out training I think about this a lot; when I am running it is going over in my mind. As a country we cannot move forward until we eradicate poverty.

I wanted to be famous. I wanted people to talk about me.

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.

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.

I can't change everything by myself but I can be one of the people who are trying to change the situation.

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.

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.

What is important is to win.

Since I achieved something, running has exploded in my country. For me sometimes it is difficult even to know who the athletes are who are competing at the highest level. There are thousands.

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.

For me a day without training is like a day without eating.