Gashau Ayale (; born 22 August 1996) is an Israeli

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. In May 2022, Ayale set an Israeli record in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

, running 27:49.88. He won the bronze medal in the

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 ...

at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for me ...

, and a gold medal in the 2022 team

European Marathon Cup The European Marathon Cup is a quadrennial team marathon competition between European countries. Initially a stand-alone championship race inaugurated in 1981, the race has been held in conjunction with the European Athletics Championships since 1 ...

. In February 2024, he won a bronze medal at the

Seville Marathon The Zurich Seville Marathon is a marathon held annually in the streets of Seville, Spain since 1985. It is organized by the department of sports of the town hall and sponsored by both public and private organizations. It was used as a host of the ...

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.

Early life

Ayale was born in the village of Gojam in

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 ...

to Tabak (his father) and Tesfia (his mother), and is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He was born into the

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 ...

ethno-religious community of Ethiopian Jews. Fellow Israeli long-distance runner and Ethiopian Jew

Girmaw Amare Girmaw Amare (; ; born 26 October 1987) is an Olympic runner who competes in the 10,000 m, half marathon, marathon, and half marathon team event. Born in Ethiopia, he represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2022, Amare won a team gold ...

was born in the same area nine years prior. At two years of age he and his family moved to

Gondar, Ethiopia Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic language, Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and Districts of Ethiopia, woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara R ...

. Ayale immigrated to Israel in 2010, at 13 years of age, with his parents and five brothers. They initially lived in a reception center in

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, Israel, and then later the family moved to

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

, Israel. His father works as a cook, and his mother works as a cleaning lady. He only began running at 18 years of age, as before that he was interested in soccer. He trains with

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

Running career

2017–19; European Cup bronze medal

On July 13, 2017, at the

2017 Maccabiah Games The 2017 Maccabiah Games (), also referred to as the 20th Maccabiah Games (), were the 20th edition of the Maccabiah Games. They took place from 4 to 17 July 2017, in Israel. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world ...

in Jerusalem, Israel, in the 5,000 metre race Ayale ran it in 14:46.25, winning a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

. On November 17, 2018, in the Hasharon

10 km 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, he ran a 29:23, winning a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. On January 4, 2019, Ayale won the

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

10 km in 29:37. On July 6, 2019, at the

2019 European 10,000m Cup The 2019 European 10,000m Cup took place on 6 July 2019. The races took place on Parliament Hill Athletics Track in London, Great Britain. The event was held together with the annual Night of the 10,000m PB's meeting for the second successive year ...

in London he ran a 28:50.47, winning a bronze medal. 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. On July 25, 2019, at the Israeli Championships in the 5,000 metre race Ayale ran a 14:09.82, winning a bronze medal.

2020–22; European Championships bronze medal

On September 18, 2020, Ayale won the Tel Aviv 15 km in a time of 44:36. On February 25, 2022, in the Tel Aviv

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 ...

, Ayale ran a 1:03:25 and won a silver medal. On April 26, 2022, at the Israeli 10,000m Championships in Tel Aviv he ran a 28:03.20, winning a silver medal. In May 2022, in the European Cup in London, Ayale set a national record in the

, running 27:49.88 to become the first Israeli to break 28 minutes in the event. On August 15, 2022, Ayale won the bronze medal in the

at the

held in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany, with a time of 2:10:29, directly behind fellow Israeli

Maru Teferi Maru Abinet Teferi (; ; born 17 August 1992), also known as Teferi Marhu, is an Israeli marathon and half marathon runner, and an Olympian. He won a silver medal in men's marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a silver medal in m ...

. He was also a member of the gold medal team for Israel winning the

at the same competition. 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." On December 10, 2022, in the Tiberias Half Marathon, Ayale ran a 1:02:38 and won a silver medal.

2023–present; Seville Marathon bronze medal

On June 10, 2023, Ayale won the Israeli League Cup 5,000 metre race in 13:47.78. On February 18, 2024, Ayale won a bronze medal at the

, in

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

, Spain, with a time of 2:04:53, setting a new Israeli record as he broke his own national record by 40 seconds. It was his first international marathon, and the second marathon in his life. It was the 84th-fastest marathon of all time. In June 2024,

(fourth place; 1:01:07—seven seconds behind the winner), Ayale (seventh place; 1:01:28), and

(ninth place) secured Team Israel's second-place finish in the team half marathon event in the

2024 European Athletics Championships The 26th European Athletics Championships were held from 7 to 12 June 2024 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. It was the third time Italy staged this sporting event after the inaugural 1934 European Athletics Championships, 1934 edition in T ...

in Rome, Italy."Israeli marathon team secures silver medal in European Athletics Championships; Maru Teferi, Gashau Ayale, and Girmaw Amare all finished in the top ten, securing the team's second-place finish behind Italy"
''Ynet'', June 9, 2024 A half marathon was run rather than a full marathon because of the proximity of the race to the Paris Olympics marathon.

2024 Paris Olympics

Ayale represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Men's marathon. 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 The flag of the State of Israel ( ; ) was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. It consists of a white background with a blue Star of David in the centre and two horizontal blue stripes at the ...

on my chest. I promise to do my very best to represent our country with honor." He ran it in a time of 2:11:36 (as

Tamirat Tola Tamirat Tola Abera (born 11 August 1991) is an Ethiopian Olympic and world champion long-distance runner. Hailing from the regional state of Oromia, he competes in track, road and cross country events. He won gold medal in the marathon at the ...

of Ethiopia won in a time of 2:06:26), and came in 31st.

2025

In March 2025, Ayale became the first Israeli in history to break the 60 minutes barrier 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 ...

distance, setting a new Israeli record at the

Lisbon Half Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record of 57:31 was set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, which ...

with a time of 59:59."EDP Meia Maratona de Lisboa 2025 - Gashsau Ayale Results,"
sporthive.com.

Personal life

Ayale has a younger brother, Yehuda Darba Ayala, who holds Israel's national U23 5,000 metres record.

Personal bests

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

– 8:05.64 (

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

2020) *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

– 13:47.78 (

2023) *

– 27:49.88 (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

2022) ;Road *

10 kilometres 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

– 29:23 ( Hod HaSharon 2018) * 20 kilometres – 56:58 (

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

2025) *

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 ...

– 59:59 (

2025) *

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 ...

– 2:04:53 (

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

2024)

References

External links

* * *
Olympic Committee of Israel page (''in Hebrew'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayale, Gashau 1996 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Citizens of Israel through Law of Return Competitors at the 2017 Maccabiah Games Ethiopian emigrants to Israel Ethiopian Jews European Athletics Championships medalists Jewish Israeli sportspeople Israeli male long-distance runners Israeli male marathon runners Israeli male middle-distance runners Israeli people of Ethiopian-Jewish descent Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics Maccabiah Games silver medalists for Israel People from Gondar People from Jaffa People from Safed Sportspeople of Ethiopian descent Sportspeople from Amhara Region Sportspeople from Northern District (Israel) Sportspeople from Tel Aviv Olympic athletes for Israel 21st-century Israeli sportsmen