Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia crosses the finish line to win the men's 5000m race at the IAAF Golden League Memorial Van Damme athletics meeting in Brussels September 4, 2009. /REUTERS
Tamirat Tola led Ethiopia's clean sweep at the Dubai Marathon on Friday after men's pre-race favourite Kenenisa Bekele retired injured.
Tola won the men's race in two hours four minutes and eleven seconds, setting a new course record and personal best, ahead of fellow Ethiopian's Mule Wasihun and Sisay Lemma in second and third place respectively.
Tola said through an interpreter after the race he was a "little upset" he did not run under 2:04:00 and that he would now switch attention to winning gold in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships in London in August.
Tola had won Bronze in the 10,000 metres at the Rio Olympics last year.
Triple Olympic champion Bekele withdrew during the race after injuring himself in a fall shortly after the start.
Manager Jos Hermens, who directed blame towards the organisers, said Bekele fell because of a surge from behind and that there should have been a gap between elite athletes and other runners.
Race officials said the fall was due to "unintentional contact".
Ethiopian Bekele, the second-fastest marathon runner in history, was making an attempt on the world record after winning Berlin last September just six seconds outside Dennis Kimetto's world record of 2:02:57.
Bekele, widely regarded as the greatest distance runner of all time and world record holder over 10,000 and 5,000 metres, has also said he is eyeing the world record at April's London Marathon.
On the women's side, Worknesh Degefa won her first competitive full marathon in the shadows of Dubai's sail-like, luxury Burj al-Arab hotel in 2:22:36.
Compatriots Shure Demise and Yebrgual Melese finished second and third respectively in the 17th running of the Dubai Marathon.
It was the first time since 2014 that the Ethiopians swept all top three men's and women's places in Dubai.
Dubai upped the stakes in the lead up to the race, offering a bonus $250,000 on the winner's $200,000 price money if the men's world record was broken and a further $50,000 for any runner who ran under 2:04:00 in the men's race. Read more here
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Ethiopia, one of five countries the IAAF says is in "critical care" over its drug-testing systems, will impose lifetime bans on drug cheats, the new president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF) said on Wednesday.
The Horn of Africa country has for many years dominated distance running along with neighboring Kenya, but it had its credibility questioned this year when six of its athletes came under investigation for doping.
The EAF subsequently announced that it would carry out tests on up to 200 athletes.
Distance-running great Haile Gebrselassie, who was elected head of the EAF last month amid discontent over mismanagement, told Reuters his administration has adopted a "zero tolerance" approach toward doping.
"Our stand is no excuse toward someone who has cheated. As of today, any athlete who has offended will be hit by a life ban," he said.
The move means Ethiopian athletes who fail tests and are subject to a four-year ban from Dec. 28 onwards will no longer be able to represent the country in any competition.
The punishment is much stricter than the one currently imposed by the International Olympic Committee whose rules stipulate that athletes caught doping can face four-year bans but after serving it they are eligible to compete in any international event, including the Olympics.
Gebrselassie said his aim was to convince the sport's world governing body that Ethiopia was serious in tackling doping and for it to be removed from the list of countries identified by IAAF president Sebastian Coe as in need of "critical care".
Kenya, Morocco, Ukraine and Belarus are other nations in that category.
Russia, meanwhile, is currently banned from all athletics following the discovery of a state-sponsored doping regime and revelations of corruption.
The New York Times reported earlier on Wednesday that officials from Russia's anti-doping agency RUSADA had for the first time admitted there had been an organized conspiracy to dope in the country.
It cited Anna Antseliovich, the acting director general of RUSADA, as making the admission in an interview. RUSADA has since dismissed the report.
Gebrselassie, considered one of the sport's greatest distance athletes, gave up competitive running in March last year.
Nearly unbeatable on the track in his prime, he won the first of eight indoor and outdoor world championship gold medals at Stuttgart in 1993 and went on to hold world records in events from the 5,000 meters to the marathon.
The Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi Stadium, which is located in Woldia, Wollo, will be inaugurated on January 14, 2017. The stadium was built at a cost of 500 million birr (more than USD 22 million) and took four-and-a-half years to complete.
The Ethiopian-born Saudi business tycoon Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, who was born in Woldia, covered the cost of construction. With a seating capacity of 25,155, the stadium boasts a lawn tennis court, a basketball court, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a volleyball field, a handball field as well as a guest house.
At a press conference held on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at Sheraton Addis, MIDROC Technology Group CEO, Arega Yirdaw (PhD), stated that the stadium would meet both FIFA and IAAF standards. He further noted that other stadium facilities included four dressing rooms, 156 floodlights, eight sound-proof press rooms, VIP seats, a state-of-the-art drainage system, a 1,000-car-capacity parking lot, internet and telephone services and 36 water tankers.
Although the stadium is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 14, it will host its first competitive game on inauguration day when Mechare takes on one of MIDROC group’s teams. On January 15, Woldia will entertain Sidama Coffee on Week 7 of the Ethiopian Premier League fixture.
Other features of the stadium include an electronic gate entry system for maximum security, a helipad for emergency evacuations, and numerous shops. On inauguration day, the Woldia City Administration would take over from MIDROC Technology Groups the day-to-day running of the stadium, Arega added.
Ethiopian Premier League side Woldia City Football Club will use the stadium to host their home game starting the new 2016/17 season.
Woldia Stadium will join the league of three other national stadiums (Addis Ababa, Hawassa and Bahir Dar) that meet international standards. Harar, Mekele, Adama and Nekemet stadiums will register as international ones in the coming years.
Last year, Ethiopia hosted the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup. With such facilities in place, it will not be a pipe dream for Ethiopia to host the African Cup of Nations finals (AFCON). Read more here
Former Ethiopian athlete Miruts Yifter, a two-time Olympic champion, who had been staying at Bridgepoint Health in Toronto for months, has passed away at the age of 72.
The IAAF, the governing body for international athletics, lists his birth date as May 15, 1944.While Miruts Yifter was being treated at Bridgepoint Hospital (Toronto, ON), hundreds of Ethiopians from the local community had visited him; and he as well as his family members had been receiving calls from a variety of high-profiled names including past runners on a daily basis. The Ambassador of Ethiopia to Canada, Mrs. Birtukan Ayano, recently visited Yifter at Bridgepoint and tweeted out the below photo, with Miruts Yifter sporting the iconic green Ethiopian track jacket.
Born in Adigrat, in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, Miruts Yifter spent early parts of his youth working in different factories and as a carriage driver. His talent as a long-distance runner was noticed when he joined the Ethiopian Air Force.
He made his Olympic debut in Munich Olympics (1972) where he won a bronze medal in 10,000 meters. In the 1973 All-Africa Games he won one gold medal (10,000 m) and one silver (5000 m). After missing the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Miruts Yifter ―regarded as “The Shifter”― won two Olympic titles at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow in the 5,000m and 10,000m.
Team EthiopiaOnline would like to pass their condolences to Miruts’s family, friends and supporters all over the world. He will be remembered by Ethiopians as one of the greatest athletes in the world and remain as an iconic hero for generations.
After winning the 10,000m in Moscow
5,000 m in Moscow. Yifter and Aleksandr Fyodotkin (USSR)
Haile Gebrselassie sits alongside Genzebe Dibaba (centre) and Almaz Ayana on the eve of the IAAF Athlete of the Year awards in Monaco (PHOTO: Philippe Fitte/IAAF/Inside the Games)
“But the rivalry between Kenya and Ethiopia is a beautiful thing. Without Ethiopia, no Kenya; without Kenya, no Ethiopia. We need each other,” says Haile Gebrselassie.
By Mike Rowbottom (Inside the Games) |
From where he was sitting in the Salle de Mer of Monaco’s Fairmont Hotel last Thursday, Haile Gebrselassie had a view clear over the Mediterranean Sea. But as his gaze fell on that mass of sun-dazzled, shifting water, his vision was of his Ethiopian homeland and what he hoped to do for those athletes following in his illustrious wake.
Since being elected as the President of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation last month, the 43-year-old double Olympic 10,000m champion and multiple world record holder has been bringing his unique experience to bear on a domestic situation which – as he readily admitted with that winning smile which launches a set of teeth simply begging to be part of a major toothpaste campaign – is far from perfect.
Problem number one – there has been too much pressure on athletes in past years to live and train in the capital of Addis Ababa in order to be considered for the national team.
Problem number two – despite the world record run which earned Almaz Ayana the Olympic 10,000m gold this summer and saw her named last Friday in Monaco as the International Association of Athletics Federations’ female Athlete of the Year, Ethiopia’s showing at the Rio Games was below par and, crucially, below the level of Kenya’s.
November 24, 2016 - Addis Ababa has been chosen as the only African city and one of the six venues to host 11 Fifa Executive Football Summits around the world between November 2016 and March 2017.
Following the launch in Paris, two summits will take place in Singapore (6-8 December), two in Miami (17-18 January), two in Doha (14-16 February), two in Addis Ababa (21-23 February).
Ethiopia Football Federation president Junedin Basha also confirmed the new development posted on the Fifa portal.
"As a country and federation we are indeed honoured to be the choice for the Fifa summit next year that's confirms the confidence the World governing body has shown to Ethiopia "Junedin told supersport.com.
Ethiopia has been hailed for its football infrastructure development throughout the continent.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Attacking football appears the order of the new Ethiopian Premier Leagueseason as many teams have signed home grown and foreign forwards , Salhadin Said of Saint George, Getaneh Kebede of Dedebit,Mulualem Tilahun of Electric and Samuel Sannumi of Ethiopia Bunna are some of the better known names.
The trend is striking because the players come with partners which means the old walking football may soon be dead. The defending champions Saint George striker international Salhadin Said is to be paired either with veteran goal poacher Adane Girma or City Cup phenomena Abubaker Sani who’s five goals made him the tournament’s top scorer.
Highly regarded title contender Dedebit FC appears to have the most deadly pair in the form of international Getaneh Kebede and Dawit Fekadu. Five years ago the two scored 43 goals between them. Could that pairing come true under in his second spell with Dedebit head coach Yohannes Sahle? Add to that Ephrem Ashamo’s attacking instinct Dedebit’s demolishing power is something to recon.
Addis Ababa City Cup surprise champion Ethio-Electric appeared well prepared to boast a deadly strike force in the form of Burundian Didrer Karvumbagu, former Ethiopia Bunna Mulualem Tilahun and the lightning fast Ivorian Ibrahim Fufona. He is the player who took the City Cup Most Valuable award, scoring three goals including the final day braid over Saint George. He has already proven himself, leading Electric to win the City Cup. If veteran Dawit Estifanos stays in good form to supply his trade mark inch perfect balls, The Power Houses could be much feared.
A direct order from the Serbian head coach Ethiopia Bunna obtained the service of the fast forward former Premier League top scorer Nigerian Samuel Sanumi while Ethiopia Neged Bank boasts another Nigerian striker Peter Nwadkee. Former champions Hawassa Town signed two strikers: 27 year old Togolese Arafat Djako and Embele Mangue thus likely to be among the strong title contenders.
Though the domination of foreign players might not be very welcome by football fans, the new Premier League season is shaping up to be hot.
Thousands of professional and amateur long-distance runners on Sunday converged on the streets of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa for the annual 10km “Great Run”.
Now in its 16th year, the event saw over 40,000 registrations despite a 6-month state of emergency declared in October following violent anti-government protests.
Relatively new athletes Abe Gashahun and Foiteyn Tesfaye – both Ethiopian nationals – came first in the men and women categories respectively.
“The race was very interesting and challenging at the same time. This is my first time to take part in it. It was very fast and I was told my time is the fastest ever so I am happy,” she said,” Tesfaye said.
Organizers said the state of emergency did have an effect, though insignificant, on the number of participants, with many international participants citing security fears.
“We had lots of cancellations after the state of emergency but we still managed to get like 250 international runners. Yesterday we had a pasta party for them at the Hilton and we just wanted to show and promote Ethiopia, we had traditional music, coffee so its not bad but its a reduced number and I hope we will get more next year.”
The 29-year-old is beating Olympians, won the Sydney marathon this year, seven minutes ahead of the second female athlete. She is also returning to defend her 15-kilometre City2Sea title in Melbourne on Sunday.
These alone are extraordinary achievements. They are all the more extraordinary because of circumstances under which she has achieved them.
One and a half years ago, Makda fled an “unsafe” situation in Ethiopia after her father was killed and, leaving behind her mother and siblings, she arrived in Australia not speaking a word of English for the Gold Coast Marathon.
Makda Haji is back to defend the City2Sea title she won in 2015.
Now, living in Red Cross accommodation in Melbourne, while she waits for her asylum application to be processed, Haji has just enough money to feed herself and catch public transport to training.
The prize money she wins from running competitions she sends back to her family in Ethiopia, explains coach Gregor Gojrzewski, who began training Makda about a year ago when she approached him at the Essendon track and, in broken English, asked for his assistance.
He took her on, he says, because prodigious talent aside, “she really needs help”.
“She didn’t know where she was going to sleep the next day,” says Gojrzewski, a former representative for Poland who coaches numerous elite Australian athletes.
Makda Haji.
Gojrzewski now trains Makda three times a week, while on other days she learns English and runs twice daily by herself as she patiently awaits her fate.
“She’s in limbo,” he explains, saying that Makda has been moved three times in the last year. “It’s very hard, but she has good mental strength and is very self-motivated.”
Luckily, Gojrzewski says that she has “amazing” people helping her, including physiotherapist Chris Constantinou, who is “sponsoring” Makda with treatments for injury prevention, a counsellor, Halake Ganyu and the Red Cross.
“Red Cross supports people in the community who are seeking asylum,” a spokeswoman from Red Cross told Fairfax. “Asylum seekers can face extreme hardship and uncertainty about the future. Our programs are designed to provide support and opportunities for asylum seekers while they resolve their immigration status.
“We cannot comment on any specific individuals or whether they are or are not a client.
“The story of Makda Haji shows the incredible contributions that newcomers to Australia can make as well as their amazing strength and resilience in the face of extreme hardship.”
Makda’s preparation on the morning of the race will involve an early breakfast – toast or Ethiopian porridge, Gojrzewski explains – plus an hour-long warm-up including some easy jogging, acceleration and 15 minutes of “getting focused”.
For recreational runners, Gojrzewski advises staying well hydrated and having some type of carb for breakfast (toast and honey, porridge or juice, for example. “Some people have eggs, but I wouldn’t recommend a full English breakfast,” he says, chuckling.)
He suggests a light jog to warm-up and “wake your body up”, but no “static stretching” and advises against going with the crowd. “Listen to your own body,” he says, adding that “the optimal pace” is one where you can still talk.
After the race he recommends eating protein and a good breakfast. “Your body needs food,” he says, adding that jumping in the ocean or getting a massage are good ways to cool your body down post race. But his best advice? “Enjoy it.” Read more here
The women’s race became a solo effort shortly after the half way point as 23-year-old Tigist Girma of Ethiopia followed closely on the heels of a designated pacemaker, dropping the entire field.
The pacemaker had been expected to take Girma right to the finish but he experienced cramps and, for a short time, followed the young Ethiopian until he could run no farther.
Girma finished in 2:32:48 to claim her first ever marathon victory – she was seventh in Lanzhou in June and second at this year’s Marrakech Marathon. Despite the heat and the fact this was her third marathon of 2016, her time was a personal best.
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“I am very, very happy that I won this marathon; the Beirut marathon is good for me,” she said with a smile. “The pacemaker ran well until his legs hurt and he dropped back.
“I trained very hard in preparation for this race. My coach is Haji Adilo and I train with his group with runners like Mare Dibaba, Amane Gobena and Tirunesh Dibaba. I am very, very happy.”
A broad grin creased her face when she was asked if she had expected to win in Beirut. Both she and Kiptoo will receive US$10,000 for their respective victories.
A crowd of Ethiopians, resplendent in their national colours and waving the country’s flag, were conspicuous at the finish. They had further reason to celebrate. Their compatriots Seada Kedir, who won in Beirut in both 2011 and 2012, and Alemenesh Guta rounded out the top three. Kedir finished in 2:34:12 with Guta crossing the line in 2:37:23.
More than 43,000 runners of all ages took to the streets for a variety of events from a 1km children’s run to the full marathon. IAAF President Sebastian Coe boldly took part in the 7km fun run along with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Read more here
Haile Gebrselassie was at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center in Athens on Friday (November 11) night to receive a Lifetime Achievement award from the International Association of Marathons and Road Races (AIMS).
Yesterday he flew to Zurich, where he spent the afternoon at a Local Heroes fundraising event supporting the schools he has set up back in his native Ethiopia - to which he is due to return today.
A typically busy weekend in the life of the man whom many regard as the greatest distance runner the world has ever seen. Not that his week is likely to be any less demanding as he begins to assess the latest task he has taken on following his election last weekend as President of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF).
It is a task he will approach with the methodical thoughtfulness that has characterised so much of what he has done on and off the track in a lifetime that has already been celebrated on film by the 1999 docu-drama Endurance.
But if endurance is a large part of Gebrselassie’s achievements, one of the hardest won elements, in his own estimation, is the similar but particular virtue of patience.
At 43, he says his biggest challenge since he retired from competition on May 10 last year has been working in a team and not being able to set personal goals.
"What I learnt is patience," he maintains. "A marathon is like two hours-plus of running. The 10,000 metres is less than 30 minutes. The same thing when I switch from running to business - I learn more patience."
Five months ago Gebrselassie was among around 100 protesters who descended on the EAF offices to protest about a number of issues including the federation’s Rio 2016 selection policy. As he takes his new place in those self-same offices he will be taking a markedly more measured approach - although the urge to improve and renew remains as strong.
Gebrselassie was elected for a four-year term after receiving nine of the 15 votes in a ballot of Ethiopia's regional athletics leaders. He beat two other candidates, with incumbent EAF President Alebachew Nigusse not standing for re-election.
Last week the double Olympic champion and multiple world record holder paid his first official visit to the EAF as President to get those famous pattering feet under the table.
"I went into the office to meet the people I will be working with and talk to them about their experiences over the last few years," he said.
"I am just beginning to realise how big a job this is - it is going to take a lot of my time and attention."
At this early stage in his incumbency much of the detail of his forthcoming efforts has still to be worked out.
Gebrselassie said after his election that he hoped "to bring Ethiopian athletics to a higher level", adding: "Athletics changed my life completely and I am thankful for that.
"I have gained a lot of experience throughout my athletics career and now it is time to give back to my country and sport."
One of the key areas for the new President will be the addressing of doubts which have arisen in recent months over Ethiopia’s anti-doping efforts.
In March, Ethiopia was among five nations, also including Kenya, designated by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) as being in "critical care" with regard to doping issues. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) warned the countries' authorities that they needed to strengthen their anti-doping programmes.
The Ethiopian authorities responded with an announcement that tests would be carried out on up to 200 athletes and the EAF subsequently suspended six on suspicion of doping, two of whom - Taemo Shumye and Sentayehu Merga - were later banned for four years.
"Our country's name has been mentioned alongside other countries for doping," Gebrselassie told AP. "One of my first jobs if I get elected is to make sure that athletes could win without doping by showing them that I'm a living proof.
"Instead of challenging WADA and other anti-doping agencies, we have to be able to admit that we have a problem and then work hard to address it. I believe that Ethiopia's doping problem is not deep. But certainly there are signs."
The traditional rivalry between Ethiopian and Kenyan runners has tipped the way of the latter nation in recent years - Kenya won six athletics golds at the Rio Games to Ethiopia’s one, contributed by Almaz Ayana’s world record run in the women’s 10,000m that lowered the previous mark by more than 14 seconds.
"The state of athletics in Ethiopia is not on the right track so I don't want to sit idle and watch it turn into ruins," Gebrselassie said.
"Ethiopia's athletics potential is probably four times bigger than our neighbour Kenya. Our main problem is that we haven't had a leadership that could bring out and nurture that talent."
There has been a long history of discord in Ethiopia between the athletes and the administration responsible for them. The most recent example - the decision not to pick the 34-year-old three-times Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele for the Rio 2016 marathon - proved the catalyst which energised the protest march of athletes and ex-athletes including Gebrselassie to the EAF HQ.
Bekele called the decision "unjust" and criticised the EAF for their "biased" selection criteria, adding: "The federation set a criteria they knew very well would rule me out."
Gebrselassie said during the protest that he could not understand the decision not to take one of Ethiopia’s best distance runners to the Games.
"As you know Kenenisa is a well-experienced athlete," he told ANA.
"He knows how to handle pressure and he knows how to win a race."
Ethiopia did win silver in the men’s marathon thanks to Feyisa Lilesa, but after finishing with arms crossed to register solidarity with his fellow citizens in the Oromia district - which was the scene of punitive action during anti-Government protests in the summer - he did not feel secure in returning to his home country and is currently in the United States.
Bekele, however, underlined his unrealised Rio potential by winning the Berlin Marathon on September 25 in 2 hours 3min 3sec, the second fastest time ever run.
One early innovation which Gebrselassie - who was born 175 kilometres from Addis Ababa in Asella, within the troubled region of Oromia - is keen to see is a change in the current obligation for athletes wishing to further their careers to live and train in the capital.
"One of the first things I want to do is to help establish and strengthen regional centres so that athletes will not have to move to live and train in Addis Ababa as they now do to become part of the national set-up," he told insidethegames.
Gebrelassie’s election was greeted with enthusiasm by the IAAF President, Sebastian Coe, who tweeted in the wake of the announcement: "Congratulations my friend. Looking forward to working with you".
Coe expanded on his enthusiasm in an interview with Kenya-based Citizen.co.ke, pointing out that the arrival of a man with 27 world records to his credit conformed perfectly to one of the four "pillars" of reform he had recently announced for the IAAF which sought to encourage former athletes to lead the sport into the future.
"What federation anywhere in the world would not want somebody with the athletics credentials and someone who has gone on to achieve outside the sport?," Coe said. "Who would not want that help, that expertise and that guidance within their federation?
"It is important for athletes to play a pivotal role in federations, a pivotal role in the IAAF and a pivotal role in our sport and yes, the more athletes we can get into the areas of administration, the better.
"Being a former competitor is not in itself enough but it does lend an athlete’s eye to so many decisions that have to be made that will affect the athletes. The more athletes we can get into positions of seniority in our sport, the better and that’s what my reforms are aimed at."
Coe also offered encouragement to current and retired Kenyan athletes who took protest action last November against their own home federation, Athletics Kenya, following allegations of corruption against officials.
"We must make sure the people coming to our sport are the right people," Coe added.
"Those who have spent many years supporting passionately the concept and philosophy of our sport, understanding their background and understanding the nature of conflict as well."
Also welcoming of the new EAF President was Kenya’s former world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang, whose Twitter message - "Big congrats to my friend who was elected today as President of the EAF" - was retweeted by Gebrselassie.
Kipsang, and world 400m hurdles champion Nicholas Bett, were among leading Kenyan athletes involved in last year’s protests against Athletics Kenya.
Despite the rivalry on the track, it seems there could be greater future accord between Ethiopia and Kenya at federation level.
Meanwhile, Gebrselassie can call upon another former team-mate to work with him on raising the Ethiopian athletics standards - Sileshi Sihine, who took Olympic 10,000m silver behind Bekele in 2004 and 2008.
Sihine - whose wedding to triple Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba was broadcast live on Ethiopian TV - was elected President of the newly formed Ethiopian Athletes’ Association (EAA) in February of last year.
The EAA vice-president is double Olympic 5,000m champion Meseret Defar and the secretary is 2015 world marathon silver medallist Yemane Tsegaye.
Gebrselassie’s acceptance of his Lifetime Achievement Trophy at the AIMS and Greek Athletics Federation Gala in Athens was the crowning moment in an evening which also witnessed awards to Kenya’s Rio 2016 Olympic champions Eliud Kipchoge and Jemima Sumgong.
"I am so proud tonight to get this trophy and I want to thank you all for choosing me," Gebrselassie said. "I am really, really happy tonight.
"I am very grateful to receive this honour and that it should be in Greece, the birth place of the marathon."
Gebrselassie was speaking ahead of today’s 34th edition of the "Athens Marathon - The Authentic", which is being held on the original course used at the first modern Games of 1896, starting in the small coastal town of Marathon and finishing in the Panathinaic Stadium.
The silver trophy by Michel Breal which home runner Spiridon Louis was awarded after his victory in that first Olympic marathon was bought by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation four years ago and is now on display at the Center.
Gebrselassie's own enduring contribution to marathon running since he made his debut in London 14 years ago exists primarily in the two world records he set - 2:04.26 at the 2007 Berlin Marathon, followed a year later on the same course by a first sub 2:04 time, 2:03.59.
Even before that second landmark achievement, Coe told CNN News that he felt Gebrselassie was the best distance runner ever.
"Haile is the greatest distance runner as far as I'm concerned - of all time," Coe said. "Comparisons will be made with Emil Zatopek, Vlaimir Kuts, Paavo Nurmi, Ron Clarke from Australia, but Haile is the most talented of them all by a distance."
Asked about Gebrselassie’s mindset, Coe responded: "Very difficult to answer because I see Haile and I know he can be a perfectly nice man, very open, friendly and social, but he also has the mentality, when it matters, of a killer!
"He is a charming person. He is very open, very rounded, he understands that what he does comes with quite a big responsibility…
"He is the most visible, tangible evidence of somebody who has maintained humility. He is somebody who has understood that they have a responsibility to sport. It is almost impossible to explain how he is viewed in Ethiopia…
"I am just delighted that his career is still going into areas that I think even his greatest fans thought unlikely two to three years ago."
That phenomenal career shows no sign of dwindling - and Ethiopian athletics will surely be the better for it. Read more here
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November 24, 2016 - Addis Ababa has been chosen as the only African city and one of the six venues to host 11 Fifa Executive Football Summits around the world between November 2016 and March 2017.
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