Q 01/05

In which Ethiopian town was Haile Gebrselassie born on 18 April 1973?

A) Gondar

B) Asella

C) Addis Ababa

D) Bekoji

Answer · why

B) Asella

He was one of ten children on a farm, and his mother died of cancer when he was six.

Q 02/05

What caused Haile Gebrselassie's distinctive posture, with his left arm crooked?

A) Carrying his books to school on foot

B) A childhood collarbone break

C) Copying his first coach's style

D) A tendon injury from a fall

Answer · why

A) Carrying his books to school on foot

He ran ten kilometres to school every morning and the same distance back each evening.

Q 03/05

How far did the young Haile Gebrselassie run to school each morning?

A) Two kilometres

B) Five kilometres

C) Ten kilometres

D) Twenty kilometres

Answer · why

C) Ten kilometres

And the same again home each evening, which shaped both his fitness and his crooked-arm running style.

Q 04/05

How many Olympic gold medals did Haile Gebrselassie win, all in the 10,000 metres?

A) Four

B) Three

C) One

D) Two

Answer · why

D) Two

Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000; injury left him fifth in Athens in 2004 when he tried for a third.

Q 05/05

How many world records did Haile Gebrselassie set in his career?

A) 19

B) 41

C) 27

D) 12

Answer · why

C) 27

He also broke 61 Ethiopian national records at distances from 800 metres to the marathon.

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