Ayele Seteng facts for kids

Ayele Seteng (Hebrew: איילה סטנג) is an amazing long-distance runner from Israel. He was born in Ethiopia on April 11, 1955. Ayele is famous for running marathons, which are very long races!

Early Life and Moving to Israel

Ayele Seteng grew up in Ethiopia. He is part of the Beta Israel community. In 1991, he moved to Israel. Sometimes, you might see his name written as Haile Satayin. This is because names can be spelled differently when they are changed from one language to another. This process is called transliteration.

Ayele is about 1.69 meters (5 feet 7 inches) tall. He weighs around 54 kilograms (119 pounds).

Ayele Seteng's Running Career

Before competing around the world, Ayele Seteng won many running titles in Israel. He was very fast in the mid-1990s. His best time for the 5000 metres race was 14 minutes and 0.49 seconds, which he achieved in 1996. For the 10,000 metres race, his best time was 29 minutes and 4.08 seconds, achieved in 1995.

Later, Ayele focused more on road running, which means races on roads, and also cross-country running, which involves running over natural terrain.

Competing in Major Races

Ayele Seteng competed in many big international events. He ran in the World Cross Country Championships in 1997, 1999, and 2000. One of his first marathons was at the 2002 European Championships.

He also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He finished 20th in the marathon. In 2005, he ran in the World Championships. He also competed in the 2006 European Championships and the 2007 World Championships.

Olympic Achievements and Age

Ayele Seteng is known for being an older athlete competing at the highest level. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, he was 49 years old. This made him the oldest track and field athlete competing there for Israel.

Even more impressively, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, he was 53 years old. He was the oldest athlete competing in any sport at those Olympics! He once said, "My age is old, but my heart is young." This shows his amazing spirit and dedication to running.

Personal Best Times

Ayele Seteng holds some impressive records for Israel. His best time for a half marathon (which is half the distance of a full marathon) is 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 43 seconds. He achieved this in March 1997 in Tel Aviv.

For the full marathon, his personal best time is 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 21 seconds. He achieved this in October 2003 at the Venice Marathon. Both of these times are Israeli records.

Running Movie Documentary

In 2011, a documentary film called "Running Movie" was made about Ayele Seteng. The film followed him as he prepared for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It also showed his efforts to try and qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The movie showed how much hard work and passion he put into his running.

See also

• List of Israeli records in athletics