Ageze Guadie ( he, גואדה אגזה; born September 11, 1989) is an
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n-born
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i Olympic
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , 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 are also wheelchair div ...
runner.
Early and personal life
Born in Ethiopia, he is an
Ethiopian Jew
The history of the Jews in Ethiopia refers to people in Ethiopia who practice Judaism or have Jewish ancestry. This history goes back millennia. The largest Jewish group in Ethiopia is the Beta Israel, also known as Ethiopian Jews. Offshoots ...
(
Beta Israel
The Beta Israel ( he, בֵּיתֶא יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Bēteʾ Yīsrāʾēl''; gez, ቤተ እስራኤል, , modern ''Bēte 'Isrā'ēl'', EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "House of Israel" or "Community of Israel"), also known as Ethiopian Jews ...
) and is the seventh of nine children in his family.
He made ''
aliya
Aliya ( ar, عَلِيَّة ), Aaliyah, Alia, or Aliyah is an Arabic feminine given name. It is the feminine of the name Ali, meaning "exalted".
People
* Aliya bint Ali (1911–1950), Queen of Iraq
* ''Aliyah bint Abdallah al-Mansur'', was th ...
'' and moved to Israel with his family at age 13, in 2002.
His family lived in an immigrant absorption center in
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
, 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. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
near
Hadera
Hadera ( he, חֲדֵרָה ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5&nbs ...
.
He served as a technical
quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...
in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
.
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 (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
, Israel, where he now lives.
Running career
He ran for the club
Hapoel
Hapoel ( he, הפועל, lit. ''the worker'') 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 ...
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 ( he, מכון וינגייט), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports ( he, המכון לחינוך גופני ולספורט ע"ש אורד וינגייט), is a sports training institute located so ...
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 ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), 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 se ...
, behind
Marhu Teferi
Marhu Teferi (or Teferi Marhu, he, מארו טפרי; born August 17, 1992) is an Ethiopian-born Israeli marathon and half marathon runner, silver medallist in marathon at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich. He represented Israel ...
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
The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes. ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
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
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...
.
He competed for
Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Israel competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Committee of Israel confirmed a team of 47 athletes, 22 men and 25 wom ...
in the marathon, and finished 122nd with a time of 2:30:45.
[ :30:45/ref> At the ]Seville Marathon
The Zurich Seville Marathon is a marathon held annually in the streets of Seville 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 1999 Wor ...
in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
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
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 race ...
- 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 , 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 are also wheelchair div ...
- 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 of Israel
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Jewish Israeli sportspeople
Jewish male athletes (track and field)
Israeli people of Ethiopian-Jewish descent
Sportspeople of Ethiopian descent