Ambesse Tolosa is an Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

n long-distance

Long-distance track event

Long-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy. These types of races are predominantly aerobic in nature and at the highest level, exceptional levels of aerobic endurance is required more than anything else...

 runner

Running

Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...

, who specializes in the marathon race.

Tolosa tested positive for banned substances in February 2008 and received a two-year ban from competitive athletics. The substance that was present in his system (morphine

Morphine

Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...

) was not a performance-enhancing drug and Tolosa said that he did not know how it had got into his body, but the IAAF rules stated that athletes received bans regardless of intent. His results from 9 December 2007 onwards were annulled, which included his win at the Honolulu Marathon

Honolulu Marathon

The Honolulu Marathon is one of the world's largest marathons. It takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the second Sunday in December. - History :...

 that year.

Achievements

Representing
1998	Hokkaido Marathon Hokkaido Marathon The Hokkaido Marathon held in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan, is one of the prominent marathon races of the year.The starting point for the race is on the east side of Nakajima Park and the race finishes at Nishi 8-chome of Odori Park...	Sapporo, Japan	1st	Marathon	2:10:13
1999	World Championships 1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....	Seville, Spain	13th	Marathon	2:16:45
2000	World Cross Country Championships 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 18-19 March 2000 in Vilamoura, Portugal.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :...	Vilamoura Vilamoura Vilamoura is in the municipality of Loulé, in the Algarve, Portugal. Its boundaries lie within the parish of Quarteira. Vilamoura is a purpose built resort and Marina which was started from scratch by a wealthy banker from Porto, Cupertino de Miranda. The resort was started in 1974 and is still...	2nd	Team
	Rotterdam Marathon Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April of every year since the third edition in 1984, and attracts many top athletes. It has also been ranked as one of the top 10 marathons in the world by Runner's World...	Rotterdam, Netherlands	8th	Marathon	2:10:57
2001	Beijing Marathon Beijing Marathon The Beijing International Marathon is an annual marathon race of 42.195 km held in October in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The race was first held in 1981 and has been held every year since. The race begins at Tiananmen Square and finishes at the National Olympic Sports Centre stadium...	Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , PR China	5th	Marathon	2:10:37
2002	Amsterdam Marathon Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195km held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands since 1975. It is one of the top ten marathons in the world.-History:...	Amsterdam, Netherlands	7th	Marathon	2:10:09
2003	World Championships 2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	19th	Marathon	2:12:19
2004	Paris Marathon Paris Marathon The Paris International Marathon is an annual marathon which takes place from the Champs-Élysées heading towards the Place de la Concorde and continuing through the city to finish at Foch Avenue....	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	1st	Marathon	2:08:56
	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...	Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....	15th	Marathon Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon The Men's Marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 29, 2004 in the streets of Athens, Greece. The streets were recently painted for the event, which provided an excellent road surface for the athletes. Drawing upon the ancient origins of the race, the marathon began in...	2:15:39
2005	World Championships 2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...	Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... , Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	19th	Marathon 2005 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Marathon The Men's Marathon race at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics was held on August 13 in the streets of Helsinki with the goal line situated in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium....	2:16:36
2006	Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon	San Diego, United States San Diego, California San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...	1st	Marathon	2:10:08
	Tokyo Marathon Tokyo Marathon The Tokyo International Marathon was a marathon for male elite runners held in Tokyo, Japan, from 1980 until 2006.It actually consisted of two marathons - the Tokyo International Marathon which took place on even years, and Tokyo-New York Friendship International Marathon which took place on odd...	Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... , Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	1st	Marathon	2:08:58
	Honolulu Marathon Honolulu Marathon The Honolulu Marathon is one of the world's largest marathons. It takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the second Sunday in December. - History :...	Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...	1st	Marathon	2:13:42
2007	World Championships 2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...	Osaka, Japan	38th	Marathon	2:30:20

Personal bests

Surface	Event	Time (h:min:s)	Venue	Date
Road	10 km	27:56	Groesbeek Groesbeek Groesbeek is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands.-Description:Groesbeek is named after a small stream called the Groesbeek, which in its original form doesn't exist anymore... , Netherlands	10 June 2000
	Half marathon Half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...	1:02:19	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium	5 May 2002
	25 km	1:15:31	Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... , Japan	12 February 2006
	30 km	1:30:43	Rotterdam Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre... , Netherlands	24 April 2002
	Marathon Marathon The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...	2:08:56	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France	4 April 2004

• All information taken from IAAF profile.

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