Zurich, Switzerland – The 8^th Annual Ethiopian Sport & Culture Festival in Europe will be held in Amsterdam, Holland next week. 

Ethiopia’s greatest athlete Haile Gebrselassie and former Ethiopian national soccer team player Negussie Gebre are this year’s invited guests of honor. However, Haile’s presence at the festival has not yet been confirmed because of his tight and demanding schedule. As a result, sports fans have asked the federation to invite former Ethiopian athlete and Switzerland- resident Mohammed Kedir, should Haile not make it. Mohammed was a member of the great Ethiopian running generation of the 80s (Green Flood), which included the likes of Miruts Yifter, Yohannes Mohammed and Eshetu Tura to name a few. 

The 3-day festival (July 29-31) comprises 23 Ethiopian football teams representing various European cities, and will also include two guest team from the USA for the first time. Furthermore, football and running events for youth athletes will also be held.   

The 23 teams are grouped accordingly: 

Group A: Ethio-Switzerland, Ethio-Birmingham (UK), Ethio-Belgium, Ethio-Holland and Ethio-Toulouse (France). 

Group B : Ethio-Sweden, Ethio-Munich (Germany), Ethio-Stuttgart (Germany), Ethio-London (UK), Ethio-Norway and Ethio-Scandinavia. 

Group C : Ethio-Amsterdam (Holland), Ethio-Katanga (London, UK), Ethio-France, Ethio-Nurnberg (Germany) and Ethio-Cologne (Germany). 

Group D : Ethio-Frankfurt (Germany), Ethio-Rome (Italy), Ethio-Finland, Ethio-Zurich (Switzerland), Ethio-USA and Ethio-Italy.

 EthioSports.com would like to inform Ethiopian sports fans that our European correspondent Mistre Haile Selassie will post daily news and results from Amsterdam.

The 112-rooms resort, which seats on 7.5 acres of tropical beauty, is just a walk away from the beautiful Lake Awassa, and construction cost was financed by loans from Hibret Bank and Zemen Bank in Addis Ababa.

The resort comes with several amenities including a soothing waterfall, seven meeting halls and banquet rooms, free wireless internet access, a mini golf course, a spacious swimming pool, two tennis courts, a mini soccer field, a fitness centre, horse-back riding, and much more.

Haile told the newspaper that plans are underway to build eight private villas on the resort, and when the renovation of the nearby Awassa Airport is completed next year, his resort will be able to offer  flight service to and from Addis Ababa.

“It is pretty much a thrill of a lifetime for us to host Haile in the marathon,” Road Runners president Mary Wittenberg said in a statement. “We have looked forward to this day for literally years.”

This year’s marathon will be on November 7.

The 37-year-old Gebrselassie set the marathon world record of 2:03.59 in 2008 at Berlin.

“I know my long-time friend Tesfaye Jifar has the course record in New York and with all of us in the field I believe that we might be able to make it a race which can be remembered for a long time as a historical race,” Gebrselassie said.

This marks the third time (2005, 2009 & 2010) that Haile won the Great Manchester Run. His winning time of 28:02 seconds was just one minute shy of the world record.

Werknesh Kidane running her first big 10km race, pulled away from the group to win in 32:31.19. Ethiopia’s greatest female runner, Derartu Tulu finished in sixth behind two-time winner J. Pavey of Great Britain.

Leading Results (10Km):
Men -
 1. H Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) 28 minutes 2 seconds
 2. A Lamdassem (Spain) 28:09
 3. S Lebid (Ukraine) 28:29

Women -
 1. W Kidane (Ethiopia) 31:19
 2. J Augusto (Portugal) 31:47
 3. I Monteiro (Portugal) 32:02
 4. A Kalovics (Hungary) 32:20
 5. J Pavey (GB) 32:42
 6. D Tulu (Ethiopia) 32:53

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopia’s greatest athlete and world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie, who recently opened a new resort hotel bearing his name (Haile Resort), has told the weekly Ethiopian Reporter newspaper that he is partnering with the Hawassa Administrative Region Bureau to upgrade city’s airfield. 

The Hawassa Airport was built in 1988 and currently accommodates small chartered flights. 

Haile said that the project, which is expected to cost several million Birr, could accommodate 20-seater planes when completed. 

He noted that Haile Resort is planning to provide air transportation service to guests, who prefer to fly rather than travel the 275-km from Addis Ababa or other regions by auto.

By Rahel Samuel -

Hawassa, Ethiopia – The 2010 EVERY ONE Race, which will take place here on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 is a new mass running event that Great Ethiopian Run is introducing to the people of Southern Ethiopia. EVERY ONE is a campaign to support newborn, child and maternal health supported in Ethiopia by a wide alliance of government health ministries and development partners.

Hawassa, the capital of the southern region of Ethiopia, is located 275km south of Addis Ababa.

According to the company’s website, the 3-part running event – 21km half-marathon, 7km & 1.5km children run – will kick off at the newly-opened Haile Resort, the new multi-million dollars resort built by Haile Gebrselassie, on the shores of Lake Hawassa. 

About Great Ethiopian Run (GER)

Great Ethiopian Run, an independent NGO created by Haile Gebrselassie with the mission of staging mass-participation running events in Ethiopia, was started in 2001.

In recent years our focus has been on taking mass-participation races to all corners of Ethiopia; developing capacity in the office and event teams which are staffed by Ethiopians; and working with sponsors on a range of publicity campaigns.

Great Ethiopian Run has staged over 50 races in its first 8 years (2001 - 2009).

Visit GER’s website at: http://www.ethiopianrun.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

“To have the world record holder Haile Gebrselassie win our event for the third straight year is a great honour,” said Standard Chartered Bank Regional CEO Middle East and North Africa Shayne Nelson. “ He didn’t manage to break the world record but he still proved he is a magnificent champion and we look forward to having him compete in Dubai for many years to come.”
 
The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is supported by Dubai Holding, Dubai Sports Council, The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, ARN and DMI, TNT, Fitness First, Men’s Fitness, Plan B, Vittel Water, RTA, Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Emergency Services.

Prize Money

But a back problem, which required intensive pre-race physiotherapy, ruled out a World record attempt from the start, and when two of his lesser known compatriots – Chala Dechase and Eshetu Wendimu – caught him in the final stages of the race, it looked like a massive upset was on the cards.

But the experience of close to 20 years of record breaking pulled Gebre through to his eighth victory in ten completed marathons, with an average time of 2:05:40, easily the most consistently excellent marathoner in history, all capped by his superlative World record of 2:03:59 from Berlin 2008.

Dechase was second in 2:06:33, a personal best by two minutes, and Wendimu was third, the same as last year, but this time two minutes faster in a personal best 2:06:46.

“This night was not a good night for me,” said Gebrselassie, “I slept in a wrong position, on my stomach, and when I woke up, I knew I had a problem, it was not good. I called my physiotherapist, and he came and cracked my back, and said, ‘what have you done?’”

“I was surprised at how humid it was at the start, but I still tried to run fast, but at halfway, I decided just to win the race. When the pacemakers dropped at 30k, I tried to go, but I couldn’t change a gear, so I waited for the second group, and just tried to win. I heard the crowd and knew where the finish was, and I was able to win.”

“This is not an indication I’m old, I still think the World record can be broken here, but these things happen.”

Daska takes an upset in women’s race

The upset was reserved for the women’s race. An Ethiopian won, as expected, but it was Mamitu Daska rather than favourites, Bezunesh Bekele, who was fourth, or Askale Magarsa, who finished sixth.

A group of eight reached halfway together, but then began to break up, with only Daska, debutante Aberu Shewaye and last year’s third placer, Kenyan Helena Kirop left in contention at 35k. A kilometre later, Kirop was dropped, and Daska and Shewaye continued their struggle until less than two kilometres from home.

Despite being violently sick in the finishing straight, Daska held onto the 50 metres lead she had forged in the last kilometre, to collapse across the finish line, in 2:24:18, another personal best, ahead of Shewaye’s debut clocking of 2:24:26. Kirop was again third, in 2:24:54, a personal best for her. The prize money was the same as for the men.

Conditions had been more clement than expected, the humidity dropped as the race progressed, and the temperature only rose a degree from 17C (62F) between start and finish. And although the direct sun will have made it uncomfortable for the runners in the second part of the race, Gebreselassie has to add the misfortune of a bad back to the overenthusiastic start two years ago – a first half in 61:45, well under World record pace – and a downpour last year, making it a hat trick of horrors affecting an record attempt, in contrast to the much more satisfying victory treble.

MEN -
 1. Haile GEBRSELASSIE, ETH   2.06.09
 2. Chala DECHASE, ETH        2.06.33
 3. Eshetu WENDIMU, ETH       2.06.46
 4. Abiyote GUTA, ETH         2.09.03
 5. Debele TULU, ETH          2.09.43
 6. Abraham CHELANGA, KEN     2.10.28
 7. Dejene YIRDAW, ETH        2.10.50
 8. Lonard MUCHERU, KEN       2.11.08
 9. Japhet KOSGEI, KEN        2.11.20
10. Yimane MEKONNEN, ETH      2.12.39

WOMEN -
 1. Mametu DASKA, ETH        2.24.18
 2. Aberu SHEWAYE, ETH       2.24.26
 3. Helena KIROP, KEN        2.24.54
 4. Bezunesh BEKELE, ETH     2.26.05
 5. Isobella ANDERSSON, SWE  2.26.52
 6. Askale MAGARSA, ETH      2.27.29
 7. Tedesse YESHIMEBET, ETH  2.27.45
 8. Genet GETANEH, ETH       2.30.23
 9. Woyshinet TAFA, ETH      2.32.06
10. Shuru DIRIBA, ETH        2.32.36

NEW YORK —(January 20, 2010) –  Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie, the marathon world record-holder and a two-time Olympic 10,000-meter champion, will race in the New York Half-Marathon in March, race organizers announced Wednesday.

The 36-year-old long distance legend last competed in a US event in 2007, when he won the New York Half-Marathon in a race-record 59 minutes, 24 seconds. Gebrselassie will seek a 20,000-dollar top prize in the 100,000-dollar event.

“I?m very excited about going back to New York,” Gebrselassie said. “I got such a warm welcome when I ran the Half-Marathon in 2007. I?m sure it will be a wonderful event again and I?m looking forward to it.”

Gebrselassie, who set the world marathon record of 2:03:59 at the 2008 Berlin Marathon, will try to win his third consecutive Dubai Marathon title on Friday.

He has also won four times at Berlin as well as in Amsterdam in 2005 and Fukuoka, Japan, in 2006.

Over the 13.1-mile half-marathon distance, Gebrselassie has won nine of 10 career starts.

“I’ve made sure I’m in perfect shape,” said the 36 year old Ethiopian, who will be running in Dubai for the third year in succession. “But everything has to be perfect, the weather, the pacemakers. If everything is perfect, I can run 2:03:30. I don’t promise, if I promise and fail, we’ll all be disappointed. Two years ago, it was a little bit warm at the end (he ran 2:04:53, then second fastest in history), last year, it was raining (he ‘only’ ran 2:05:29, eighth fastest)”.

He dismissed the notion that his first half in 61min 45sec, 2:03:30 pace, in 2008 might have been too fast. “I didn’t run too fast, I want to do the same on Friday. It’s good the race starts at 6.30(am), but above all, I want to keep to the schedule all the way through. Even if you run the first kilometre to slow, you’re catching up all the way.”

His two victories here have netted him half a million dollars, since the race was upgraded in 2008 with a million dollars prize money, with a first prize of $250,000, for both men and women. But there is also the little matter of a million dollar bonus for a World record, offered by Dubai Holding.

Replying to someone who asked what he might do if he won the million dollars, Gebrselassie first said, “I will tell you after I get the million dollars,” then adding as the laughter died down, “If I could get the record by paying a million dollars, I’d do it”.

Three of the pacemakers who delivered him on schedule to 35km last year, before the rains ruined the record attempt – Fabiano Joseph of Tanzania, and John Kales and Sammy Kosgei of Kenya – are in there again.

And another Kenyan Sammy Korir, who was once second fastest in the world, says that he is not in the field as token opposition. Korir ran 2:04:56, one second behind colleague Paul Tergat’s then World record, in Berlin 2003, but has a dozen sub-2:10 times, more than Gebrselassie.

Korir, 38, finished third here two years ago, and said today, “After my run in Berlin, I had injuries and it was difficult, coming back to racing and then getting injured again. But now I have shown I can run fast, 2:07 again (winning in Seoul 2008), so I am looking forward to the race. Dubai is a very good course for running fast”.

Before the 42.2k on Friday, Gebreselassie went off to tackle the half-mile high Burj Khalifa, as one of the first famous guests up the recently opened world’s tallest tower.

And having reiterated today his desire to run the Olympic marathon in London 2012, the inference is that Haile is not planning to slow down any time soon. So, weather and pacemakers permitting, expect another towering time from the Little Emperor on Friday.