Dhe “Bielefeld district record”, Amanal Petros said on the phone, was his “first big goal” as a runner. Only recently had he even started jogging in the refugee camp in East Westphalia to run away from boredom. “The next big goal is the European record,” he says now, nine years later. And on the way there he first improved his own German record.
At the “Maratón de Valencia” on Sunday, the 26-year-old crossed the finish line in eleventh place after 2:06:26 hours and thus improved the German record. “I’m super happy,” said Petros, although he made some qualifications: “I was hoping that I would be able to run for 2:05 hours. But it was too windy for that today ”. The victory in Valencia went to the Kenyan Lawrence Cherono (2:05:12). On the very flat stretch along the coast, starting in the City of Arts and finishing on a wooden walkway, which symbolically lets the finishers walk over water, Petros already had the national record of Arne Gabius (2:08:33) by well last year one minute to 2:07:18 hours.
Mo. – Fr. at 4 p.m.; Sa. – So. at 6 p.m.
LOG IN
And it wasn’t until October that he was also able to set a national record in the half marathon in Valencia in 1:00:09. Petros, born 26 years ago in Assab, Eritrea, became the first German runner to hold both long-distance records at the same time. Of which he was “really very proud”. Because he always thinks about “where I come from and how I started”.
It was at the “Oesterweger Volks- und Feuerwehrlauf” on June 29, 2012, when the then 17-year-old stood at the starting line of an official race for the first time. He won straight away – two and a half minutes ahead of the runner-up. Just fourteen days later, the young man, who started for TSV Einigkeit 1890 Bielefeld at the time, achieved his next big win in a 5000 meter race in Borgholzhausen in 15: 36.37. First career goal achieved. The district record for the male youth U 18 is still valid today.
208 kilometers – per week
A year earlier, Petros had fled Ethiopia at the age of 16, alone, as an unaccompanied youth. He hadn’t landed in paradise, but at least in North Rhine-Westphalia. He tried to integrate himself into his new homeland through sport and to learn the language – which he succeeded admirably. Soccer was his first attempt, but the coach was not satisfied with him: he ran too much and played too little, remembers the 1.81 meter tall, but only 62 kilo young man. Just a runner type.
Want to be Europe’s best: Amanal Petros
:
Image: dpa
Most recently, Petros ran 208 kilometers – per week. Since the beginning of November he has been at the training camp in Kenya and honed his long-distance performance. He stayed until Friday, only to benefit from the high altitude in Valencia two days later. His life was previously manageable: “Exercise, eat, drink, sleep” were the items on the agenda. “Playing cards” with other runners was very popular as a leisure activity. Once they visited an animal park together and enjoyed the wonderful landscape. Otherwise: regeneration. “It won’t get boring for me” claims the 26-year-old: “I know where I got up from.”
Flight and displacement dominated his childhood and adolescence. When he was two years old, his mother fled with him from Eritrea to Ethiopia, which he then left a decade ago. There, in the Tigray region, a new civil war is currently raging. Central government troops are fighting for power with those of the overthrown regional government. The conflict sparked a humanitarian crisis that has resulted in the displacement of nearly two million people.
Read F + 30 days for free now and get access to all articles on FAZ.NET.
READ F + NOW
The United Nations estimates that 400,000 people are affected by famine. “It’s gotten worse,” says Petros. His mother and two sisters still live in the northern Ethiopian region. He can’t help them. “I’ve been a soldier in the German sports promotion group since 2017,” says Petros, who had become a German citizen two years earlier. He is obliged not to get into such regions and conflicts, even as a private person.
The young man is worried about his mother, whom he has not spoken to for months, and his two sisters, one of whom has been arbitrarily arrested. “I always think about her, every day,” says Petros in a soft voice. “I try to distract myself,” he admits, using his intensive training with which he is pursuing his ambitious goals. “Running helps” is his mantra.
On one day he designed a “long run” that only ends beyond the 30-kilometer mark. The next morning he kept himself busy with an easy endurance run before he worked on his speed in the afternoon. Sometimes Petros trained in the stadium, sometimes outside on the slopes. The other runners who train with him “try to protect me,” he says. Some know of his family worries and support him mentally. “I am very happy to be here.” Petros dedicates his success to the people in Tigray, “who are threatened there”. It’s his way of drawing attention to the crisis there.
It remains to be seen whether one day he will actually succeed in attacking the European record. He should have improved by another three minutes since Belgian Bashir Abdi completed the Rotterdam marathon in 2:03:36 hours in October. After his recent coup in Valencia, he is at least sixth on the “all-time” European best list. And even so, his career is already a success story. The name Amanal Petros is listed eight times in the current list of the best of the Bielefeld Athletics District.
.
