Haile Gebrselassie shattered the world half marathon record by 21 seconds Sunday while running the last half of the Rock 'N' Roll Arizona marathon.
He also broke the 20-kilometer world mark en route. It marked the 19th and 20th times the diminutive Ethiopian has broken world records in his career.
His half marathon time of 58 minutes, 55 seconds on a clear, crisp morning through the streets of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe broke the mark of 59:16 set by 18-year-old Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, last Sept. 11.
His 20-kilometer time, also officially clocked, was 55:48. That broke the world record held by his longtime rival, Paul Tergat of Kenya, of 56:18 set in the Stramilano, Italy, half marathon on April 4, 1998.
He also broke the 20-kilometer world mark en route. It marked the 19th and 20th times the diminutive Ethiopian has broken world records in his career.
His half marathon time of 58 minutes, 55 seconds on a clear, crisp morning through the streets of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe broke the mark of 59:16 set by 18-year-old Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, last Sept. 11.
His 20-kilometer time, also officially clocked, was 55:48. That broke the world record held by his longtime rival, Paul Tergat of Kenya, of 56:18 set in the Stramilano, Italy, half marathon on April 4, 1998.