The life of Haile Gebrselassie is something of a metaphor for the evolution of adidas running shoes. As a child growing up in Ethiopia in the early 80s, Gebrselassie would run 10km to school every day with his bare feet. It was not until 1989 that he owned his first pair of running shoes, hand-me-downs from his older brother, which just happened to be adidas. Three years later Gebrselassie signed with adidas, establishing himself as a prodigious distance runner, winning multiple championships in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres disciplines. Before the 90s were up, he had set and smashed his own world records 17 times. Like Gebrselassie, adidas running shoes have continued to push the boundaries over the years, always leading the pack. In the 00s, he began to concentrate on longer distances, beating the world half marathon record by a full 21 seconds in 2006 and winning the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively at the end of the decade. He achieved all of these feats with his signature running style: his right arm pumping madly and left arm bent and locked at his side. Why? Because that’s how he carried his books when he ran to school all those years back.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 11:47:42 +0000
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