Haile Gebrselassie:

G4S Sport Global Ambassador

Marathon & Track (1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m)

Haile won Olympic 10,000m Gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics & 2000 Sydney Olympics. A multiple World Champion over distances from 1,500m to the 1/2 Marathon, he has set an impressive 26 world records during his career to date.

The G4S 4teen programme attracted the support of double Olympic Gold medallist and global sporting icon Haile Gebrselassie. An inspiration to hundreds of thousands of athletes for the past two decades, Haile has committed to mentoring the team to help each athlete achieve their sporting goals.

Generally regarded as the finest distance runner the world has ever seen, Haile Gebrselassie has been at the top of world sport for nearly two decades.

A double Olympic Gold medallist and many times World Champion, Haile excels over distances from 1,500m to the Marathon.

Haile dominated long distance track running in the 1990's during which time he made 5,000m running 'the event' to watch, breaking world records almost every time he stepped on the track and forcing a whole generation of runners to train harder in an unavailing attempt to rival him. A front runner who also possesses a terrific sprint finish, his duels with Paul Tergat were legendary and reached their zenith at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 where Haile's famed finishing spurt took him past his rival in the final stride as he retained his 10,000m title.

Having won his first senior world title over 10,000m in Stuttgart in 1993 when just twenty years old, a decade later Haile claimed his ninth, this time over 3,000m. Even more remarkable are his exploits against the clock, setting no less than twenty world records between 1994 and 2006 with every prospect of more to come.

After recurring leg injuries, Haile switched from track to road running in 2004 and last year was the world's number one marathon runner. In September 2007 Haile clinched his 24th world record, when competing in the Berlin Marathon and fulfilled a life-long dream which he soon broke again in 2008 on the same course. Ever mindful of his next challenge Haile's attention is now focusing on the Olympic Games in London 2012.

Updates:

On Sunday 18th October Haile Gebrselassie triumphantly competed in the Oporto Sportzone Half-Marathon, in Porto Portugal.

The iconic Ethiopian, who is also the current World record holder in the Marathon, led from the front, and was amongst the leaders from the start of the popular half-marathon. Despite the strong winds on the day, the G4S 4teen ambassador crossed the finish line in 1:00:02, more than a minute faster than the 1:01:25 course record, which had previously been set the year before by Samuel Wanjiru.

Earlier this year I met up with the African athletes from G4S 4teen at a regional training camp in Kenya. It really was amazing for me to see them and hear how they have been doing. being back in Kenya was good too, I met with my old running friend Paul Tergat. Now I am focusing on my next race. I have been to Europe recently taking part in a few races, I ran in Manchester England and in Holland and they went very well.

Gallery: