Israel’s marathon runners continue to deliver outstanding achievements. On Sunday, Israel won the gold medal for the second consecutive time and the third time in its history in the European Athletics Championships being held in Birmingham, England after the Israeli runners finished with an overall time of 6:28:37, placing them first. In addition, Israeli long-distance runner Gashau Ayale, who won the silver medal last year, once again reached the podium, winning bronze after clocking 2:09:21.
Amanal Petros of Germany finished first and won the individual gold medal after setting a championship record of 2:09:11, while Pietro Riva of Italy finished second and took silver in 2:09:18. At the end of the race, Petros and Ayale embraced and congratulated each other. Tadesse Getahon finished fifth in 2:09:31 and Aymeru Almaya came in eighth in 2:09:45.
Gashau Ayale with gold medalist Amanal Petros of Germany
(Photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images for European Athletics)
In the women’s marathon, Selamawit Bayoulign-Teferi finished 11th in 2:28:26. It was the second time in her career that the Israeli runner had competed in the longest running event. Maor Tiyouri finished one place behind her, with a time of 2:30:17.
'I dedicate the medal to the people of Israel'
Israel's leading trio was made up of veteran Maru Teferi, still considered one of the top runners on the continent, Ayale and Aymeru Almaya, who stunned last year with an excellent run at the World Championships, where he finished fourth. They were joined by Tadesse Getahon, Yitayew Abuhay and Bukayo Melada. In the end, it was Ayale, Getahon and Almaya who finished in third, fifth and eighth places, giving Israel the best cumulative time and putting it in first place, with Germany second and France third.
Ayale dedicated his win to the people of Israel
(Photo: Andrew Boyers/Reuters)
After the impressive achievement, Ayale said: “First of all, I want to say thank you to the people of Israel for giving us the privilege of representing you with honor, and that is a great privilege for us. Personally, I am very happy that I managed to win another medal at the European Championships, and I want to dedicate my medal to all the people of Israel. I love you very much, and we will meet next year.”
Ayale described what he went through during the race. “In the final 20 kilometers, I fell a little behind the leading pack. I thought I could close the gap but not really make it onto the podium. When I reached the rest of our runners, I told them that the fight was between us and the Germans. There were three Israelis in the pack, and I told them this was the time to give everything we had in our legs, and we achieved our goal,” he explained.
Israeli runners in the marathon
(Photo: Andrew Boyers/Reuters)
Over the past decade, the marathon has become the crown jewel of Israeli athletics. In Munich in 2022, the Israeli runners stunned the field with a historic gold medal, while Maru Teferi and Gashau Ayale won silver and bronze in the individual competition. Two years later in Rome, the team added a silver medal in the half-marathon event, after the distance was shortened because the Paris Olympics were held that summer. During that period, Teferi was also crowned world runner-up in 2023.
Luna Chemtai Salpeter also deserves mention. She won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, as well as a gold medal in the 10,000 meters at the European Championships that same year. On the world circuit, Salpeter won gold at the Tokyo Marathon in 2020, silver in New York in 2022 and bronze in Boston in 2023.