Haile Gebrselassie Quotes
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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.
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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.
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I want to go down in history.
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When I wake up at 5 in the morning is it just to jog? Definitely not, I give it all of my efforts.
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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.
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You know for me when I promise something I want to deliver. If you don't, you have to disappear.
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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.
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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.
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I always tell young athletes the same thing, 'Wherever you go, whatever you do, what must your top priority be? Running.'
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When you promise something, you must fulfill it.
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I find the business world hard.
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I wanted to be famous. I wanted people to talk about me.
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Athletics is in my blood.
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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'.
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I was the kind of child who worked hard every day with the cows and sheep - I was a very aggressive boy.
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I think if you come first with a new world record, that is the best.
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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.
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Always, if you win mentally, you can win physically as well.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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If you are a really good marathoner, you have to run New York.
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I love running and I will always run.