MY HALF MARATHON:AMANAL

MY HALF MARATHON:AMANAL PETROSI’m really happy I did it. Allthe effort was already worthit—even though my prep forLondon starts again immediatelyafter the race. I hadn’tbeen training specifically forthe half marathon in Kenya,but I did focus on recoveryduring the last six days beforethe race. I actually flewstraight back to high-altitudetraining in Kenya the samenight. I want that marathonrecord back. What Berlin showedme is: I’m very, very ready.“I’ll put everything on theline for the German record.”I don’t care that London’scourse is not considered asfast as Berlin’s. I’ll go out withthe second group and won’thold anything back. Then Iwant to do everything in mypower to break the Germanrecord and fight for this goaluntil the very end.“The atmosphere in Berlinwas incredible again.”I hope the vibe in London isjust like it was here. The supportalong the course wasamazing—I felt like I was beingcarried along. Of course, thewind was brutal, and it wascold. That made it a reallytough race. But I knew I hada huge chance, and I was desperateto at least go sub-60.I approached the race in apositive mindset—and forthe first time, I wore glassesduring a competition.They helped protect my eyesfrom the cold. In the past,I’d sometimes struggle tosee clearly towards the endof cold races. I’m just reallyglad everything went smoothly—especiallyafter all thebad luck I had in 2024. At theEuropean Championshipsin Rome, I was still battlingfor gold in the final stretchof the half marathon. But– 4 –

About the athleteAmanal Petros is the firstathlete in German athleticshistory to break the three mostimportant national records—inthe 10K, half marathon, andmarathon—and to even holdthem simultaneously. In February2023, he broke CarstenEich’s nearly 30-year-old 10Krecord (27:47) by running27:32 in Castellón, Spain.In September 2023, he ran2:04:58 in the BMW BERLINMARATHON. Before the recenthalf marathon, his Germanrecord stood at 60:09 for the21.0975 km distance. Born inEritrea, Amanal fled to Germanyas a teenager. For years, hetrained with TV Wattenscheidunder coach Tono Kirschbaum,alongside marathoners HendrikPfeiffer and Tom Gröschel.In 2023 and 2024, he ran forthe Marathon Team Berlin, andsince early 2025 he has beenrepresenting Hannover 96.However, he spends most of theyear training in Kenya with thegroup led by renowned Italiancoach Renato Canova.– 5 –