Tears shed as Israelis win in Munich
Israel took gold last Monday in the men’s team marathon event at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, an extraordinary success coming 50 years after the massacre of Israeli athletes in the same city.
Israel’s Marhu Teferi also won a silver medal in the individual runners’ competition, while fellow Israeli Gashau Ayale picked up the bronze.
Along with Teferi and Ayale, who are both Ethiopian-born Israelis, the other members of the gold medal squad were Omer Ramon, Yimer Getahun and Girmaw Amare.
The strong showing for Israel came 50 years after 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics.
“This is really exciting for me. I am very happy with this achievement,” Teferi told reporters after the race.
Israel’s Olympic Committee said in a statement it was “moved to tears to experience the exciting continuity of Israeli sports on Munich soil” 50 years after the massacre.
Team medals are given to the country whose fastest three runners have the best combined time.
Team Israel’s gold-winning result was 6:31:48.
The silver medal went to Germany and Spain won bronze.
The men’s marathon title went to host nation Germany as Richard Ringer produced an extraordinarily well-judged final burst past Teferi to take the gold.
Ringer dug deep in front of thousands of onlookers to clock in at 2:10.21, with Teferi crossing the line just two seconds behind, followed by Ayale, a further six seconds adrift.
In the women’s marathon, Israeli runner Maor Tiyouri finished in 28th place with a time of 2:38:04.
Teferi’s wife, Selamawit, competed in the 10,000m race, along with another Ethiopian Israeli runner, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, who won a bronze medal.
Last month, the Kenyan-born runner claimed bronze in the women’s marathon at the World Athletic Championships in Eugene, Oregon, clocking 2:20:18, which was an Israeli national record at a world championships.
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