IAAF:n haastattelussa Haile kertoi tavoitteistaan eli Lontoon maratonkulta. Samassa haastattelussa hän asetteli itsensä sijalle 10 kaikkien aikojen rankingissa.
Maanmies Abebe Bikila nousi hänen asteikossaan korkeimmalle.

All-time ranking? “Perhaps I’m No. 10!” He’s undoubtedly achieved that in running as well, where he remains as committed as ever to his career. As ever, he aims for the pinnacle. “I want to win Olympic gold in the Marathon in London in 2012,” he says without beating about the bush. When it comes to the much discussed question of who is the greatest distance runner of all time, Gebrselassie offers his own personal ranking: number one is his compatriot Abebe Bikila, who won two consecutive Olympic marathons, each with world record times. He awards second place to the Finn Paavo Nurmi, third to Emil Zatopek. And where would he put himself? “Perhaps I’m at number ten,” he says with a touch of understatement and can’t help laughing. But in all seriousness he adds, “Let me finish my career first, then others can judge!” Andreas Meier for the IAAF