Ageze Guadie (; born September 11, 1989) is an
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
n-born
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i Olympic
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
runner.
Early and personal life
Born in Ethiopia, he is an
Ethiopian Jew (
Beta Israel
Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, is a Jewish group originating from the territory of the Amhara Region, Amhara and Tigray Region, Tigray regions in northern Ethiopia, where they are spread out across more than 500 small villages over a wide ter ...
) and is the seventh of nine children in his family.
He made ''
aliya'' and moved to Israel with his family at age 13, in 2002.
His family lived in an immigrant absorption center in
Beersheba
Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...
, while he went to a
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
near
Hadera
Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...
.
He served as a technical
quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...
in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
.
After the army, he worked as a waiter in a cafe, and as a mover.
He then became a sports teacher at a school in
Netanya
Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...
, Israel, where he now lives.
Running career
He ran for the club
Hapoel
Hapoel (, ) is an Israeli Jewish sports association established in 1926 by the Histadrut Labor Federation.
History
During the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine period Hapoel had a bitter rivalry with Maccabi World Union, Maccab ...
Emek Hefer, won Under-16 regional and national competitions at
middle distances, and at the age of 16 won the Israeli
cross country youth championship.
His mother initially did not want him to compete in running, as she felt it was a difficult sport and she thought he would be too skinny.
In 2012, he signed up for physical education studies at the
Wingate Institute
Wingate Institute (), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports (), is a sports training institute located south of Netanya, Israel.
History
Wingate Institute was established in 1957. It was named after Orde Wingate. ...
in Netanya, and trained with Israeli Olympic marathon runner
Zohar Zimro.
In December 2015 he came in third with a time of 67:04 in the Israeli championships in the
half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...
in
Beit She'an
Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level.
Beit She'an is believed to ...
, behind
Marhu Teferi and Berihun Weve.
He began to consider running a marathon for the first time, saying "I felt that if I did 21 kilometers in 1:07, I had the second half in my legs. Your gut tells you that you can do it. Go for it. I had faith and courage; it came from the heart."
Guadie completed his first marathon run, at the
Rotterdam Marathon in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
in April 2016, in a time of 2:18:51. He came in 27th.
His time was the second-best for an Israeli running his first marathon, after
Tesama Moogas."
He reflected, "This marathon taught me two things: Ability and courage. To believe in yourself and not be afraid, to go for broke, to turn the impossible into the possible."
With his time in the Rotterdam Marathon, which was nine seconds better than the
Olympic qualification standard, he qualified for the
2016 Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
.
He competed for
Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the marathon, and finished 122nd with a time of 2:30:45.
[ :30:45/ref> At the Seville Marathon in ]Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in February 2020, he set his personal best with a time of 2:12:06. During that race, he also set a new personal best in half marathon (1:05:23).
Personal bests
* 10,000 m - 29:55.63 (2018)
*Half Marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...
- 1:05:23 (2020)
*Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
- 2:12:06 (2020)
See also
* List of select Jewish track and field athletes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Video interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guadie, Ageze
1989 births
Living people
Ethiopian Jews
Ethiopian emigrants to Israel
Citizens of Israel through Law of Return
Israeli male long-distance runners
Israeli male marathon runners
Olympic athletes for Israel
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Jewish Israeli sportspeople
Jewish track and field athletes
Israeli people of Ethiopian-Jewish descent
Sportspeople of Ethiopian descent
21st-century Israeli sportsmen