Men of authority have employed all the destructive agents around them to promote their own personal interests at the sacrifice of every just, honorable, and lawful consideration.

I have barely time to give you a brief statement of facts as I find them.

In isolated or country places no man's life is safe.

The roads are filled with armed robbers, and murders for mere plunder are of daily occurrence.

You must do as your people do. If my people are poor, I must be poor. People ask me, 'Why don't you find a personal coach or a private car?' I can't. Then I won't be part of my people.

You need three things to win: discipline, hard work and, before everything maybe, commitment. No one will make it without those three. Sport teaches you that.

Age for me is just a number.

At the end of the day, people want to see how fast you run.

Athletics is in my blood.

I always tell young athletes the same thing, 'Wherever you go, whatever you do, what must your top priority be? Running.'

I feel a social responsibility. We need to open people's eyes. There is a lack of education in Ethiopia.

I find the business world hard.

I have seen things few of my countrymen have. The first time I went on an aeroplane I couldn't work out how the lavatories worked up in the sky.

I love running and I will always run.

I think if you come first with a new world record, that is the best.

I used to run to school, 10k every day. And this at altitude, perfect preparation, really.

I want to avoid injuries by running only road.

I want to go down in history.

I wanted to be famous. I wanted people to talk about me.

I wanted to experience New York, to look up and see buildings.