Agency Report –
Tokyo – Amanal Petros has dedicated his surprise silver medal in the world championship marathon to his mother in Ethiopia and named it the culmination of his integration as a German.
Petros, 30, was born in Eritrea but the family fled to the Tigray region in Ethiopia during the war between the two countries.
He went to Germany on his own in 2012 as a refugee and attained citizenship in 2015. He said he only told his mother about his departure once he had safely arrived in Germany.
Medal for mother
“This is for my mother,” he said after his heroics in Tokyo on Monday where he missed the gold by a mere three-hundredths of a second against Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania in a dramatic finish.
He said his mother lives in a village without electricity and internet: “She won’t have seen it but I will cut a few videos and send them to her that she can see it.
“It is a huge story for me to achieve this – especially for my family, my mother who has been living in a conflict region for ages. I haven’t seen her for eight, nine years,” he said.
Petros said his big aim is “to invite my mother to Germany one day” for a marathon, “just to show how I run.”
Best career result
Petros came fourth at the 2022 European championships, is the first German to run a half marathon under one hour, and has a half marathon bronze from the 2024 European championships.
He used to hold the German marathon record but failed to finish the Olympic race in Paris last year.
He came good in humid conditions in Tokyo where he was always in the leader group and seemed on course to gold in the National Stadium before Simbu pipped him to the line.
Petros said he was a little “sad” about the missed gold but also “very happy” after his biggest career moment.
“This medal is a huge integration as a German,” he said.
Historic achievement
Petros is only the second German to medal in a world championship marathon. The other is twice Olympic champion Waldemar Cierpinski who got bronze for East Germany in 1983.
“Amanal has made history,” marathon coach Alexander Fromm told broadcasters ARD, naming the outcome “simply outstanding.”
Cierpinski told dpa: “It is great for Germany that he had such a great run. We have wised for many years that someone is so far up front.
“He is a hard-working lad. I wished he would have won the gold, but that’s sport. We have never had such a dramatic race before in marathon.”
Germany finished without a medal at the last worlds 2023 in Budapest but they now have two silvers in Tokyo, the other coming from long jumper Malaika Mihambo on Sunday.
“I am dreaming right now. It was a very, very long journey. I trained for four months at an altituide of 2,500 metres in Kenya. That wasn’t easy for me, it was brutal,” Petros said.
Ringer happy for Petros
Richard Ringer, the 2022 European champion, came 13th in the tough conditions but was happy for team-mate Petros.
“I spent the last days together with him in our room. We pushed each other. Amanal enjoyed the Euro title with me back then. And today I am enjoying his medal,” Ringer said.
There will be a little celebration with red wine as Petros pledged with a smile: “Now I am not a runner any more but a drinker.”
