German record-holder Amanal Petros achieved the milestone of his first big city marathon victory in the Hannover Marathon on Sunday (26) in a course record of 2:07:02.
But the German is planning to drop down in distance over the course of the summer. Petros has his sights on the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August and the 26-year-old is looking to achieve the 10,000m qualifying time of 27:10 at the European 10,000m Cup in Pacé, France on 3 June.
Petros finished second at the European 10,000m Cup in 2019 before shifting his focus to the marathon - and with palpable success. He represented Germany at the distance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, finished fourth on home soil at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships and has also lowered the national record down to 2:06:27.
His winning time of 2:07:02 in Hannover was the second fastest of his career thus far. After the race, Petros spoke to Leichtathletik.de in depth about the race and his plans for the summer season. The full version of the interview can be read in German here.
What does it mean to you to have won your first marathon in Germany and also to have set a new course record?
Amanal Petros: The course record was the goal. That means a lot to me and is a huge motivation. I have never run a city marathon in Germany. It's quite an experience. I'm super excited and can't wait to come back, be even better prepared and run an even better time. I met so many friendly people this weekend; it was a great pleasure.
So what is your plan for the rest of the season?
Amanal Petros: I will train for the 10,000m and maybe 5000m. I want to focus on short distances to improve my speed. I thought I hung up my spikes more than two years ago; now I need to get them back and go find them so I can work on the track. From the end of May I would like to train at altitude again.
Are you also planning on the track for the World Championships in Budapest?
Amanal Petros: Yes, in any case. First of all, the goal is to tick off the World Championships qualifying standard. I would also like to run the European 10,000m Cup.
You have already shown what you can do on the road this year with a new German 10km record of 27:32. What do you expect on the track then?
Amanal Petros: I think if I can run 27:20-27:15 on the track, my marathon will be much faster in the future. That's the goal, and that's why I'm now orienting myself back down to the shorter distances.
You have now run a spring marathon in Germany, are you also aiming for an autumn marathon, especially since you have been part of the SCC Berlin marathon team since this year?
Amanal Petros: Yes, the marathon in Berlin is the big goal. This is of course the most special marathon in the world. I have very high expectations and will prepare myself from now on. But I don't want to reveal too much about it just yet.