Asaf Bimro

(1969 - )

Asaf Bimro was born on January 1, 1969, in Ethiopia.

Bimro entered his first World Championship in the marathon event in 1995 but failed to finish. However he refused to give in and reentered in 97 and finished 59th overall. In 2001 after a career threatening hernia, Asaf pulled of a surprisingly high 20th place finish. In 2002 Bimro improved his performance as his 2:17:30 hour run earned him the 17th spot. That same year Asaf finished 17th in the European Championship.In 2003 he only managed to capture the 27th place in the World Championship, but improved his time to 2:14:52 thus beating the Israeli Olympic minimum by eight seconds.

Asaf is also an accomplished runner in other long distance events: his best time in the 2000 meter event is 1:07:17.4, and his best time in the half marathon is 1:04:47. Asaf's best personal time in the 10000 meter race was run in 1995 at 29:49.85; he did the 5000 meters in 14:38.3 in 2003, the 3000 meters in 8:32.05 in 1995 and the 1500 meter race in 4:04.1 in 1995.

Bimro was probably the most unlikely member of the Israeli Olympic squad in the Athens Games. As a youngster in Ethiopia, he dreamed of being a soccer star but was convinced to convert to long distance running in Israel. Asaf qualified for his first Olympics at the age of 35 after recovering from a severe pelvic hernia five years ago. The evergreen runner claims that his work with handicapped children is far more satisfying then any sporting achievement ever could.

Bimro ran in the Olympic marathon in the Athens Games along with compatriot Haile Satayin. His start was rather poor and Asaf was way back at 89th place early in the race but he quickened the pace considerably in the last 10 kilometers of the 40 kilometer race. Bimro ranked 59th overall (2:25.26) in the race.

Sources: Jews In Sports