Haile Gebreselassie

A word about the work

(GRAN008)
In the winter of 1996, Gérard Rancinan produced a series of portraits for Paris Match of sports personalities who were most likely to be the stars of the Atlanta Olympic Games held that summer. The magazine wanted to publish the series just before the event. For this portrait, Gérard went off to Addis Abeba in Ethiopia where the champion lives. He had a fixer with him who helped him get around, find a location and communicate.
At the time Haile Gebreselassie was the 10,000m double World Champion and was the overwhelming favourite to win in Atlanta at this distance. He became Olympic Champion again in Sydney in 2000.

We’d found a location in the bush near Addis where I wanted to get him to run. When we went back there with Haile we found this rock which to symbolise the podium. We were near a small village.
At one point I saw this women come along, she was going to get water.
At my request, the fixer asked her if she’d be in the photo giving the champion a drink.
He went and spoke to her and then she went back to the village. Seeing him come back alone, I was disappointed that she’d refused. When the translator came over to me he had a huge grin on his face : « She didn’t refuse », he told me, «  she just wants to go and change into her best clothes ».

Jean-Denis’s choice

I am often sensitive to portraits in situ where the setting contributes to telling the subject’s story. But is has to be a real setting, a real subject and a photographer who is capable of making the most of all that.
A great image for a great champion.