Israel has won the team gold medal at this year’s European Athletics Championships in the men’s marathon.
The combined time of their top three runners was 26 seconds faster than second-placed Germany.
Gashau Ayale was Israel’s best runner, finishing in third place with a time of 2:09:21, securing the individual bronze medal.
He completed the race ten seconds behind Amanal Petros of Germany in first place, who achieved the course record.
Left to right: bronze medallist Gashau Ayale (Israel), gold medallist Amanal Petros (German), silver medallist Pietro Riva (Italy) (credit: AP/Morgan Harlow)[Missing Credit]
The two next best Israelis were Tadesse Getahon (2:09:31) in fifth place and Haimro Alame (2:09:45) in eighth.
The next best two German runners after Petros finished in the ninth and tenth spots, giving them a combined time of 6:29:03. Israel’s total time was 6:28:37.
Israel’s other three runners were Yitayew Abuhay (12th), Maru Teferi (22nd), and Bukayawe Malede (35th). In total, there were 52 runners, plus eight non-finishers.
The two medals are Israel’s first at the week-long athletics competition, which is being held in Birmingham and ends today.
The competition takes place every two years; the marathon is not contested in years when it coincides with the Olympics.
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