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Students rub shoulders with champion of champions
24/04/06
View images from the event at Headingley Carnegie Stadium on Monday evening
View images from the event at Headingley Campus on Tuesday morning
Haile
Gebrselassie, regarded universally as one of the greatest distance
runners of all time, is visiting Leeds Met, enabling
students to rub shoulders with a world-class champion.
Haile, who has broken 22 world records, spoke to students, staff and friends at an event held at Headingley Carnegie Stadium yesterday evening.
Haile thanked Leeds Met for supporting Ethiopian students and talked about Ethiopia and running. Sharing tips with the audience, Haile spoke about the need to train hard, eat properly and get through the pain barrier.
Accompanied by Richard Nerurkar, the Briton who won the 1993
World Cup marathon, Haile, who has built schools in Ethiopia,
also spoke about the importance of education in the development
of the country and the ways in which running can help to unite
people.
The Olympian was presented with shirts from Leeds Met partners Leeds Rugby and also received the brand new shirt Yorkshire County Cricket Club shirt, which carries the Leeds Met Carnegie logo.
Today the double Olympic champion and quadruple world champion, who leads the Great Ethiopian Run, will be encouraging students on the Carnegie Sports Centre track in support of the Great Student Run, taking place on Sunday 30 April.
He will also hear more about Leeds Met Africa, which will include
a professorial position in African Enterprise. Haile will be
receiving a Leeds Met honorary doctorate at Leeds Met’s
first graduation ceremony in Africa.
