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Haile Gebrselassie
El hijo de campesinos del Arsi que corría con el brazo torcido y una sonrisa inquebrantable hasta convertirse en uno de los mayores fondistas de la historia.
El ascenso
Nacido en Asella, en la región etíope de Arsi, de niño recorría 10 km para ir a la escuela y volver, con el brazo izquierdo permanentemente doblado de tanto cargar libros, antes de darse a conocer ganando los títulos mundiales juveniles de 5000 m y 10 000 m en 1992.
Lo que hicieron
He took back-to-back Olympic 10,000m golds in 1996 and 2000, won four straight world 10,000m titles, set 27 world records from 2,000m to the marathon, and in 2008 became the first man to run a marathon under 2:04 in Berlin.
El cuadro completo
Beyond the track he built a large business empire and entered politics, and his post-athletics career drew controversy, including a bitter 2018 dispute with Britain's Mo Farah over a hotel theft allegation, and criticism over his ventures and political alignments.
Por qué importa
Gebrselassie defined the modern era of Ethiopian and African distance running and, as an athlete-turned-entrepreneur, became a model of how sporting greatness can be parlayed into economic influence at home.
“"When you run, you don't think about anything. You just feel free."”