Outdoor Track and Field on Flotrack 2013

What If I Told You That Hagos Gebrhiwet Ran 14:10 in 2011?

May 14, 2013 by Mitch Kastoff

While we were getting used to all of this high school and collegiate action, the pros finally emerged from their high altitude cocoons to remind us that the World Champions are right around the corner.

We don’t want to put too much stake in May openers, but there may be a reason for Usain Bolt to worry, a reason for Tyson Gay to be confident, a reason for the rest of the world to be scared of Hagos Gebrhiwet, a reason for David Rudisha to keep being David Rudisha, and a thank you to Al Gore.

- Should Bolt Be Worried After the Cayman Invitational?
- What If I Told You That Hagos Gebrhiwet Ran 14:10 in 2011?
- Lessons From Doha with Rudisha and Kiprop and Thank You, Al Gore

There’s a New Geb in Ethiopia

Last Friday, the now-sponsored Diamond League finally started back up so I hope that everyone finalized their DL Fantasy League lineups.

Perhaps the most dominating performance of the night came from Ethiopia’s teenage superstar, Hagos Gebrhiwet. You might remember Gebrhiwet from the New Balance Grand Prix, where he first broke Galen Rupp’s body then his spirit (he lost and missed the American 3k record).

Running the same distance as his last event on the track, Gebrhiwet won it from a long way out in 7:30.36. The startling bit of info was that his final lap was 53.93, which has us and probably everyone else, terrified for the Ethiopian 5000m squad for World Championships. While Gebrhiwet was dropped in the 5000m Olympic final, we're still interested to see what he can do at the distance as he's only ever run seven 5ks, ever.

Crazy credentials for a teenager, right? His IAAF profile lists his birthday as May 11th, 1994 (happy belated birthday Gebniho!), but if we had to make one single objective statement in this article, it wouldn’t be that he’s nineteen years old. He's a boy among men and this idiom totally doesn't work in this scenario, does it.

Officially, Gebrhiwet is still in his teens. Back in March when he won the IAAF Junior World XC Championship, we wondered if Gebrhiwet could have won the senior race. After his last lap in Doha, we wouldn’t have been surprised.

Gebrhiwet Went From... What... To 12:47.53

Think about how long you've been running. All the years, the miles, and will to reach new heights... now prepare to cry yourself to sleep.

Gebrhiwet hasn’t been on the running scene for very long. Last year, the new Geb ran 12:47.53 in Saint-Denis, which is currently the world junior record and not bad for his second year of stepping on an accredited track.

If you’re wondering what he ran each year up until 2012, then we’re not the one’s to answer that question because we’re still scratching our heads in disbelief. When we say “not very long,” we mean we could only find stats on Gebrhiwet for the last two years. So we have what he ran last season, but what about the only other season before that?

14:10.0 at altitude in Addis Abada. He's some talent. That’s your objective statement.