World athletics legend Haile says ‘together we will beat corona’

The coronavirus epidemic continues to disrupt life across the world. The disruption is much lesser in African countries that have recorded cases as compared to for example Italy where the entire country is almost in a lockdown. Most countries have banned all sporting competitions.
Our main coronavirus hub is seized with major developments around the epidemic. This piece will focus on the impact on sports given a raft of incidents that have been undertaken.
Ethiopia’s athletics great Haile Gebrsellassie says it is important for people to obey social distancing rules as authorities do all it takes to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
He shared a message on Twitter entreating people to stay at home and to remain positive that the pandemic will he history sooner than later.
A transcript of his message: “Hello everyone, my name is Haile Gebrselassie. Save your family and yourself by doing your part. Nowadays, the world has a big problem. Don’t worry about the darkness of today, think about the light of tomorrow.
“Do you know I have a different business, that is why I am working at home. No matter what, let us work together, we will win together, stay at home, we will beat corona, thank you.”
Gebrselassie, has brought the country a lot of glory in long-distance events had a stellar career which spanned over two decades, since 1992 when he won the 5000m and 10,000m titles at the World Junior Championships.
Over the duration of his active days, he set 27 world records and 61 Ethiopian records, as well as win two Olympic gold medals and eight world titles both indoors and out.
In addition to his athletics career, Haile is also a businessman and employs more than 2000 people in several businesses back home. Local media reports that he is involved in real estate projects, owns four hotels, a coffee plantation and is the distributor for Hyundai in Ethiopia.
He is also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations and is involved in tree planting and road projects. He has built several schools in his residential area.