Ethiopian, Olympic long distance champion Haile Gebrselassie will be coming to St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves made the disclosure on Monday, October 24, at Cabinet Room.

Dr. Ralph Gonsalves disclosed he met Gebrselassie on his flight to Ethiopia last week. {{more}}

“I invited him to come to St.Vincent and the Grenadines and he has accepted the invitation,” said Dr. Gonsalves.

Gebrselassie, Dr. Gonsalves outlined, is elated to hear about the links that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is establishing with Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Dr. Gonsalves said Gebrselassie’s visit will have a significant impact on this country, especially on the athletes.

Haile Gebreselassie is regarded universally as the greatest distance runner of all times, with a career that sees him breaking records as they are made.

The Ethiopian rose to international prominence in 1992 when he won the 5,000m and 10,000m World Junior championships.

He set his first World Record in the 5000m in 12:56.96 in Hengelo, Holland in 1994. In doing so he broke the six-year-old world record of Said Aouita.

He was the first man to break both the 13-minute mark for the 5,000 metre run and the 27-minute mark for the 10,000 metre run.

In 1999 Gebrselassie starred as himself in the movie “Endurance.” The film chronicled his quest to win Olympic gold in the 10,000-metres.

In 2004, Gebrselassie came to the Olympic Games seeking to become the first man in history to win three straight Olympic gold medals in the 10,000 metre run. He was unable to do so, however, finishing fifth in a race won by his countryman and protégé Kenenisa Bekele.