Israel’s marathon runners win four medals, including a gold, at European Championships

Israel’s marathon runners won a historic four medals in the European Athletics Championships in Brussels on Sunday, including a gold medal for the men’s team and a silver medal for the women’s team.

Gashau Ayale, Maru Teferi and Haimro Alame finished second, third and fourth, respectively, in the men’s competition, securing first place overall for the Israeli squad. In the team competitions, the three runners with the best time determine the country’s overall time.

The Israeli team won with a total time of 6:27:52 hours, followed by Belgium with 6:38:39 hours, and Turkey with 6:39:17 hours.

Ayale won individual silver with a time of 2:09:08, followed by Teferi at 2:09:17 and Alame at 2:09:27. As he crossed the finish line, Alame waved the Israeli flag proudly.

It was Israel’s second team gold at the European tournament in three years, following its win in Munich in 2022.

In the women’s race, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter won the bronze medal after a photo finish against her teammate and friend, Maor Tiyouri, who finished in fourth place. Both clocked the same time of 2:28:01 hours, but Salpeter edged out Tiyouri at the finish line. Helen Wolfson joined the competition just two weeks ago to ensure Israel met the three-runner minimum for team scoring. Only three countries fielded full teams, and Israel secured the silver medal with a time of 7:40:18, coming in behind Spain, which won gold with a time of 7:24:44.

“I’m the happiest man in the world,” Ayale said after completing the race. “I’m thrilled to be on the podium again. I came here confident after breaking the Israeli half-marathon record. This is a different kind of race but I always come in at my best.”

Teferi said, “I’m very happy with both the team and my individual result. The course was beautiful, the weather was great. I hadn’t trained well recently but I came here to support the team — and I’m proud to reach the podium individually too.” Teferi won an individual silver medal in the 2023 World Athletic Championships and went on to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Salpeter, who took ninth place in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, was also emotional: “This is an excellent achievement for me. I want to congratulate the Spanish runners — they were fantastic. I wasn’t feeling well a few weeks ago, so just getting here was a challenge. I’m happy to finish with a bronze medal.”