Gashau Ayale
Israeli marathon runner (born 1996)
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Gashau Ayale (Hebrew: גשאו איילה; born 22 August 1996) is an Israeli long-distance runner.[1] In May 2022, Ayale set an Israeli record in the 10,000 metres, running 27:49.88. He won the bronze medal in the marathon at the European Athletics Championships, and a gold medal in the 2022 team European Marathon Cup. In February 2024, he won a bronze medal at the Seville Marathon with a time of 2:04:53, setting a new Israeli record. Ayale represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Men's marathon, and came in 31st.
2024 Summer Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Citizenship | Israeli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 August 1996 Gojam, Ethiopia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Jaffa, Israel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Israel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Long-distance running | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | Marathon: 2:04:53 (Sevilla) 2024 (NR) 10,000 metres: 27:49.88 (London) 2022 (NR) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
Ayale was born in the village of Gojam in Ethiopia to Tabak (his father) and Tesfia (his mother), and is Jewish.[2] He was born into the Beta Israel ethno-religious community of Ethiopian Jews. Fellow Israeli long-distance runner and Ethiopian Jew Girmaw Amare was born in the same area nine years prior. At two years of age he and his family moved to Gondar, Ethiopia.[2]
Ayale immigrated to Israel in 2010, at 13 years of age, with his parents and five brothers.[2][3] They initially lived in an absorption center in Safed, Israel, and then later the family moved to Jaffa, Israel.[2] His father worked as a cook, and his mother as a cleaner.[2] He began running at 18, after initial interest in soccer.[3] He trains with Maccabi Tel Aviv.[3]
Running career
2017–19; European Cup bronze medal
On July 13, 2017, at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem, Israel, in the 5,000 metre race Ayale ran it in 14:46.25, winning a silver medal.[1]
On November 17, 2018, in the Hasharon 10 km, he ran a 29:23, winning a bronze medal.[1]
On January 4, 2019, Ayale won the Tiberias 10 km in 29:37.[1]
On July 6, 2019, at the 2019 European 10,000m Cup in London he ran a 28:50.47, winning a bronze medal.[1]
On July 24, 2019, at the Israeli Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel, in the 1,500 metre race Ayale ran a 3:48.81, winning a silver medal.[1]
On July 25, 2019, at the Israeli Championships in the 5,000 metre race Ayale ran a 14:09.82, winning a bronze medal.[1]
2020–22; European Championships bronze medal
On September 18, 2020, Ayale won the Tel Aviv 15 km in a time of 44:36.[1]
On February 25, 2022, in the Tel Aviv Half Marathon, Ayale ran a 1:03:25 and won a silver medal.[1]
On April 26, 2022, at the Israeli 10,000m Championships in Tel Aviv he ran a 28:03.20, winning a silver medal.[1]
In May 2022, in the European Cup in London, Ayale set a national record in the 10,000 metres, running 27:49.88 to become the first Israeli to break 28 minutes in the event.[4][3]
On August 15, 2022, Ayale won the bronze medal in the marathon at the European Athletics Championships held in Munich, Germany, with a time of 2:10:29, directly behind fellow Israeli Maru Teferi.[5][1] He was also a member of the gold medal team for Israel winning the European Marathon Cup at the same competition.[6] He said, referring to the Munich massacre, "Fifty years after what happened here, winning a medal and waving the Israeli flag is just so sweet."[7]
On December 10, 2022, in the Tiberias Half Marathon, Ayale ran a 1:02:38 and won a silver medal.[1]
2023–present; Seville Marathon bronze medal
On June 10, 2023, Ayale won the Israeli League Cup 5,000 metre race in 13:47.78.[1]
On February 18, 2024, Ayale won a bronze medal at the Seville Marathon, in Sevilla, Spain, with a time of 2:04:53, setting a new Israeli record as he broke his own national record by 40 seconds.[1] It was his first international marathon, and the second marathon in his life.[3] It was the 84th-fastest marathon of all time.[2]
In June 2024, Maru Teferi (fourth place; 1:01:07—seven seconds behind the winner), Ayale (seventh place; 1:01:28), and Girmaw Amare (ninth place) secured Team Israel's second-place finish in the team half marathon event in the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, Italy.[8][9] A half marathon was run rather than a full marathon because of the proximity of the race to the Paris Olympics marathon.[9]
2024 Paris Olympics
Ayale represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Men's marathon.[3] He said: "It is a great honor for me to represent Israel, especially in this painful time for the people of Israel. I look forward to wearing the uniform of the Israeli national team and running through the streets of Paris with the Israeli flag on my chest. I promise to do my very best to represent our country with honor."[3][10] He ran it in a time of 2:11:36 (as Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia won in a time of 2:06:26), and came in 31st.[11]
2025
In March 2025, Ayale became the first Israeli in history to break the 60 minutes barrier in the half marathon distance, setting a new Israeli record at the Lisbon Half Marathon with a time of 59:59.[12]
Personal life
Ayale has a younger brother, Yehuda Darba Ayala, who holds Israel's national U23 5,000 metres record.[4]
Personal bests
- 3000 metres – 8:05.64 (Tel Aviv 2020)
- 5000 metres – 13:47.78 (Tel Aviv 2023)
- 10,000 metres – 27:49.88 (London 2022)
- Road
- 10 kilometres – 29:23 (Hod HaSharon 2018)
- 20 kilometres – 56:58 (Lisbon 2025) NR
- Half marathon – 59:59 (Lisbon 2025) NR
- Marathon – 2:04:53 (Seville 2024)
