Amanal Petros: From refugee to European champion

Amanal Petros, a refugee from Ethiopia, has become a European champion after winning the gold medal in the marathon at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Eleven months after narrowly missing out on a World Championship title in Tokyo, the 31-year-old German runner had just secured his first major marathon victory.

Petros, who was born in the Eritrean port city of Assab in 1995, fled with his family to Tigray in northern Ethiopia as a young child to escape the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia. At the age of five, he began working in the fields and tending to animals. Petros arrived in Germany in early 2012, initially staying in accommodation for asylum seekers, while his mother and sisters remained in Tigray.

Due to the conflict in the region, Petros lost contact with his family for over two months in late 2021. Despite these challenges, Petros dedicated his gold medal to his mother, describing her as his queen and source of strength. He had spent months preparing for the event at altitude in Kenya, tackling eight laps, inclines, and numerous turns.

Petros's victory in Birmingham was a commanding one, with Italian runner Pietro Riva finishing just seven seconds behind him. The victory brought Germany's first World Championship medal in the men's marathon since 1983, a significant achievement for Petros and his family, particularly his mother.