Israeli marathon team wins gold at European Championships

Israeli marathoners took the men’s team gold at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, on Sunday, beating out second-place Germany by 34 seconds in the men’s race.

Gashau Ayale led the pack for the Israeli runners, winning an individual bronze with a time of 2:09:21, just 10 seconds off the course record set by winner Amanal Petros of Germany.

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Ayale’s teammate Tadesse Getahon crossed the finish line 10 seconds behind him, good enough for fifth, and Haimro Alame snagged eighth place. The rest of the team finished 12th, 22nd and 35th, with a combined time of 6:28:37.

Germany’s team nabbed the silver with 6:29:03, and France took home the bronze with 6:32:12.

The medals marked Israel’s first at the weeklong games, which end Sunday.

The Israel team has won the men’s marathon twice before at the European championships, in 2022 and in 2025. Ayale was on the team all three times.

Ayale told the Ynet news site that on the final stretch, “I told the [other runners] that the war was between us and the Germans. There were three Israelis in the group, and I told them that this was the time to give it everything we had in our legs, and we achieved our goal.”

انجاز رياضي من الدرجة الأولىذهبية للمنتخب الإسرائيلي في الماراثون ببطولة أوروبا لألعاب القوىواصل عداؤو الماراثون الإسرائيليون تحقيق الإنجازات، بعدما أحرزوا اليوم الميدالية الذهبية للمرة الثانية على التوالي والثالثة في تاريخ الماراثون الاسرائيلي ، اثر تصدّر العدائين… pic.twitter.com/4hbGgK0OB2

— إسرائيل بالعربية (@IsraelArabic) August 16, 2026

He added that he wanted to dedicate the medal to the people of Israel.

“It is a great honor for us,” he said. “I love you all very much, and I’ll see you next year.”

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