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Haile runs farewell race in Addis ©Giorgios Karagiannis
Haile runs farewell race in Addis – By Giorgios Karagiannis
23 November 2015 – Ethiopia's double Olympic champion and multiple world record holder Haile Gebrselassie ran his last race in Addis Ababa by taking part in the 2015 Great Ethiopian Run 10km.
Haile started the race from the mass ahead of 37,000 runners, he ran solo in barefeet and finished in a time of 32 minutes and 48 seconds.
“I did this for Abebe Bekila, the father of running in Ethiopia and for the whole of Africa. He is our inspiration,” said Haile at the end of the race.
Despite announcing at Friday’s press conference that he was now just ‘running for fun’, Haile did his customary warm-up forty-five minutes before the start and ran the whole race in isolation from the masses behind him.
Many of Ethiopia’s top athletes including Tirunesh and Genzebe Dibaba, Sileshi Sihin, Mare Dibaba, Gezahagne Abera, Tesfaye Tola, Anbessy Tolosa, Ketema Negussie and Tessema Abshiro came to honour Haile and lined the finish straight as Haile with arms raised came down through the finish.
“Where did they all come from?!” exclaimed Haile, expressing his surprise at the reception from his fellow athletes.
“I’ve had some special moments in my career, and this will always be one of them. I particularly want to thank my wife and my family, and the Ethiopian public who have supported me over the past twenty-five years.
After the race Haile was presented with a special award created in diamond and gold by the disabled artist Biruk Yeshitela who earlier in the morning had completed a special 100m event to recognise his miraculous recovery, having once been told he would never be able to walk again.
Kids race. Early Saturday morning took place another big sport and running celebration with more than 4.000 kids of all ages running and hoping to follow the footsteps of the Great Champion Haile Gebrselassie.
It was a unique experience watching all those little smiling faces been part of that wonderful race finishing and been congratulated indeed from Haile who was waiting right after the finish line till the last one ,taking pictures and giving them the joy and the courage to go on.
Concerning the elite field now Mamitu Daska and Tamirat Tola won their first Great Ethiopian Run titles in Addis Ababa.
Daska took the women’s race by a massive winning margin of 54 seconds, while Tola had to outsprint his rivals in the closing 500m of the race. Their winning times were 32 minutes and 16 seconds, and 28 minutes and 44 seconds respectively.
For Daska, this was her second appearance in the race, having competed here in 2005 when she finished 24th. “I knew I was in good shape. I’m training hard for my next marathon in Dubai in January, and wanted to test myself here,” she explained after the race.
Daska broke clear just after the halfway point and continued to extend her lead over the uphill second half of the course. Behind her Yegebrual Melese and 2010 champion Sule Utura had their own tussle for second place, with Melese just edging out her older rival over the race’s final kilometre. Utura was delighted with her return to top-flight competition after giving birth fifteen months ago.
Daska said after the race that she believes she is in shape to attack the Ethiopian marathon record of 2:18:58 held by Tiki Gelana when she competes in Dubai in two months’ time.
There was a much closer battle in the men’s race with a leading pack of around 12 athletes together as they passed 6km. The pack started to break up on the climb from the Gotera Junction, leaving just three athletes Tola, Bonsa Didi and Adugna Tekele in contention as they approached the race’s final kilometre. Tola put in a fierce kick 500m from the line and came home six seconds clear of Didi with Tekele a further 4 seconds back.
“I’ve always wanted to run here,” said Tola after the race. “My breakthrough race came two and a half years ago when I won the Hawassa Half-Marathon, and since then I’ve been dreaming of winning here. But then I could not take part two years ago as I was training hard for Dubai and last year I was injured before the race. So to win now is something very special.”
“After dropping out in Berlin in September my focus has been this race,” admitted Tola who shares the same coach as Daska in Gemedu Dedefo. “I knew I was in good shape, and felt great all the way round. Although I was leading in the early stages, I then decided just to sit back in the group and then kick hard at the finish.”
Tola is part of a strong training group that includes Tsegaye Mekonnen and Lemmi Berhanu.
The first non-Ethiopian to finish was Geoffrey Kipyego who finished 10th in 29 minutes and 29 seconds.
The first European to finish was Bjarte Vik from Norway who ran 39 minutes and 58 seconds.
The Irish Ambassador Aidan O’Hara once again won the Ambassadors’ Race in a time of 50 minutes and 35 seconds.
Giorgios Karagiannis
Results
Women
1. 1. Mamitu Daska 32:16
2. 2. Yegebrual Melese 33:10
3. 3. Sule Utura 33:44
Men
1. 1. Tamirat Tola 28:44
2. 2. . Bonsa Didi 28:50
3. Adugna Tekele 28:50
