"I'm dreaming right now," Petros said, not at all bothered by the narrow defeat. "As a professional athlete, I just have to accept it and look forward."

As a young refugee to Germany

Petros had to do this  from an early age . He was born in the Eritrean port city of Assab. When he was two years old, his mother fled with him to the Tigray region in northern  Ethiopia . The reason was a bitter border war between the two countries over the disputed town of Badme.

At 16, Petros fled again. He made his way to Germany alone. His mother and two sisters continue to live in Ethiopia. Petros was housed as an asylum seeker in Bielefeld in early 2012. There, a coach at the football club noticed Petros's running talent and placed him with an athletics club.

A photo-finish image showing Alphonce Simbu winning the marathon. Photograph: Seiko

Tanzania's Alphonce Felix Simbu, left, and Germany's athlete Amanal Petros sprint to cross the finish line in the men's marathon final during the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 in Japan on September 15, 2025 [Jewel Samad/AFP]

Published On 15 Sep 202515 Sep 2025