Fatherhood Quote by Haile Gebrselassie

The sting in Haile Gebrselassie’s memory is how speed, in the wrong hands, stops being admirable and becomes inescapable. Coming from a man famous for turning quickness into grace and national pride, this recollection flips the usual sports mythology: velocity isn’t freedom here, it’s pursuit. The line lands because it’s built on a child’s logic - if you can run, you can get away - and then denies it. “He was not a runner... but he was quick” draws a clean line between talent and temperament. His father doesn’t need athletic identity to wield physical dominance; he just needs the will to do it.

The repetition (“always,” “always”) reads like a verdict delivered by someone who has replayed the same scene for decades. It’s not just about a single beating but a household rule: anger moves faster than you do. The detail “Even me” is the quietest flex and the most brutal. It acknowledges Gebrselassie’s extraordinary gift while admitting that, as a child, it meant nothing. Fame can’t outrun family.

Context matters: for many athletes from demanding, resource-scarce environments, hardship gets alchemized into inspirational narrative. Gebrselassie refuses the easy arc. He doesn’t romanticize discipline; he names fear. The intent feels less like accusation than clarity - a way of marking where his relationship to speed began, and how a body trained for triumph can also be shaped by the instinct to flee.