Maru Teferi

Teferi was born in Dangla, in northwestern Ethiopia. His mother died in 2000, when he was eight, and his father subsequently decided that the family would immigrate to Israel. Teferi arrived in 2006, aged 14, with his parents and six siblings; three older brothers remained in Ethiopia. One profile reported that he has nine siblings in total.[5][1]

His first stop in Israel was Kiryat Yam, and he later moved to Ben Shemen Youth Village. He initially studied Hebrew at an integration center before attending a boys’ school where an older brother was enrolled. It was at school that he discovered his potential as a runner.[5][1]

Teferi recalled that friends persuaded him to join a school athletics team for a 5,000-meter race, despite his having no sports experience, preparation, or running shoes. He ran in shorts and All Stars and finished eighth. Coach and athlete Rafi Vishnitzer noticed his performance, told him he had potential, and gave him Adidas running shoes and a red shirt. Teferi later said he would never forget the gesture.[1]

At about 16, Teferi began training in long-distance running at Ben Shemen under Vishnitzer. He later joined a running team connecting students from the school with Maccabi Tel Aviv. At 17 he represented Israel at a youth championship in Poland, running the 8,000 meters; although he said he did not perform well, he was proud to represent Israel, and seeing leading Ethiopian and Kenyan runners strengthened his determination to continue.[1][6]

Dan Salpeter became Teferi’s coach in 2012, when Teferi was about 20. Salpeter shifted his focus toward the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, judging that those distances offered a more accessible route to qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics than the marathon. Teferi trained about 200 kilometers a week, often in two daily sessions, and traveled to Ethiopia, Kenya, and Italy for altitude training.[1][6]

After three years of preparation, Teferi ran his first marathon in Berlin in 2015, finishing in 2:19:23. That year he also won Israel’s national marathon championship. He qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics at the Rotterdam Marathon with a time of 2:18:19, having won Israel’s national half-marathon title the previous December. He said his immediate aim in Rio was to gain experience.[1][7]

Teferi’s early international results developed into national records and championship finishes. At the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin, he placed seventh in the marathon in 2:13:00, breaking the Israeli record of 2:14:11 set by Ayele Seteng in 2003. Teferi said he was especially surprised and pleased by the seventh-place finish. He was fifth at the Frankfurt Marathon in 2019.[6][8]

In February 2020, Teferi set an Israeli marathon record of 2:07:20 at the Seville Marathon.[1] At the 2022 Seville Marathon he finished seventh in 2:06:58, improving the record he had set at the same race two years earlier by 22 seconds.[9]

Teferi competed in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, and finished 13th in 2:13:02. This was described as the best Olympic marathon placing by an Israeli runner at the time. He and his wife, fellow runner Selamawit Bayulin-Teferi, represented Israel together at the Games.[1][2]

At the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, Teferi placed 11th in the marathon in 2:07:59. About a month later he raced again at the European Championships in Munich, despite the short interval between marathons. Israeli team officials asked him to compete so the country could contend for a team medal, and he agreed.[10][2]

At the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, Teferi won silver in the individual marathon in 2:10:23. His result, together with those of Gashau Ayale and Yemer Getahun, contributed to Israel’s team marathon gold. The race took place 50 years after the 1972 Munich Olympic attack in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed; Teferi described winning in the city as especially meaningful.[5]

Teferi won silver in the men’s marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, finishing in 2:09:12. Uganda’s Victor Kiplangat won in 2:08:53, while Ethiopia’s Leul Gebresilase took bronze in 2:09:19. It was the first World Championships medal won by an Israeli male marathon runner. The Jewish Virtual Library describes Teferi as the fifth Israeli to win a World Championships medal in track and field.[3][11]

The Budapest race tested Teferi’s resilience. He fell around the 30-kilometer mark and continued with a torn tank top.[12] In a post-race interview, he said he had initially aimed for a good result rather than a podium finish. After colliding with an Ethiopian runner while reaching for water and feeling sharp pain, he considered withdrawing but continued. In the final kilometers, he saw Gebresilase weakening and pushed to pass him.[13]

Preparation for the Budapest heat included joint training by Israeli and Ethiopian runners in the Italian Alps, followed by trips to Turin to acclimatize to warmer conditions. Teferi said the preparation helped considerably.[13]

At the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, Teferi finished fourth in the half marathon, helping Israel win team silver behind Italy. The half marathon was used instead of the full marathon because the championships were close to the Paris Olympics and athletes would have had difficulty recovering from a marathon in time to compete again. The Israeli team’s medal was the country’s second team medal at the European Championships, after its Munich marathon gold.[14]

At the Paris Olympics in 2024, Teferi placed 26th in the men’s marathon. He said that plans do not always work out as expected, but that he was happy to finish and honored to represent his country.[15] About two and a half months later, he placed third at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2:05:42. Invited to pace the race, he had expected to stop after 30 kilometers but continued when he felt good; the result was a personal best at the time.[16]

At the 2025 European Athletics Championships in Brussels, Teferi finished third in the marathon in 2:09:17. Gashau Ayale placed second and Haimro Alame fourth, giving Israel the three leading team results and a combined time of 6:27:52 for team gold.[11][4] Teferi said he had come to support the team rather than seek an individual podium finish.[17]

Teferi met Selamawit Bayulin-Teferi, a professional runner, while training in Ethiopia in 2012. They married on January 12, 2017. Selamawit later immigrated to Israel, trained with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and became an Israeli citizen in 2018. The couple represented Israel together at the Tokyo Olympics and became parents at the end of 2023. They live in Kiryat Ata.[1][2]

Teferi’s career has included three Olympic appearances, Israeli national records, a World Championships silver medal, and contributions to Israeli team titles at the European Championships. His Budapest silver was the first World Championships medal won by an Israeli male marathon runner, while his Munich and Brussels results helped secure team golds.[3][4]

His progress from a school race run without proper equipment to the international marathon circuit has also become a defining part of his public story. The early support of Vishnitzer and his coaches, alongside the sustained training that followed, formed the path from youth competition to national and international success.[1][6]

In a 2021 interview, Teferi and Selamawit described experiences they viewed as discriminatory treatment of Ethiopian Israelis by police. Teferi recounted that officers detained them for about an hour while they were returning from training, suspecting that they were coming home drunk from a party. He called the experience degrading and argued for greater investment in Ethiopian neighborhoods and educational programs for young people.[1]

Published accounts differ on Teferi’s precise placing at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Israel Hayom and Sport5 report that he placed 73rd,[1][2] while Globes lists him 74th.[6] Approved coverage also varies between the spellings “Maru” and “Marhu” Teferi.[10][5]