Ethiopian-Born Marathoner Runs for Israel

Zohar Zemiro Immigrated With Family When He Was 10.

By Blair Thornburgh

After placing 10th at the Amsterdam marathon last April and becoming the first Israeli athlete to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games, Ethiopian-born Zohar Zemiro was succinct about how he felt: “It is the happiest moment in my life,” the distance runner told the Israeli Athletic Association, which named him its 2011 Athlete of the Year.

With a time of two hours, 14 minutes and 28 seconds in Amsterdam for the grueling race of 26.2 miles, Zemiro broke his previous personal best: two hours, 21 minutes and 33 seconds, achieved just a few months earlier, at Israel’s Tiberias Marathon, where Zemiro placed second among all Israelis and 18th overall. Read More