Ambesse Tolosa (born 28 August 1977 in Shewa) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, 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) was not a performance-enhancing drug and Tolosa said that he did not know how it had gotten into his body, but the IAAF rules stated that athletes received bans regardless of intent.[1] His results from 9 December 2007 onwards were annulled,[2] which included his win at the Honolulu Marathon that year.
| Representing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Hokkaido Marathon | Sapporo, Japan | 1st | Marathon | 2:10:13 | |
| 1999 | Seville, Spain | 13th | Marathon | 2:16:45 | ||
| 2000 | World Cross Country Championships | Vilamoura | 2nd | Team | ||
| Rotterdam, Netherlands | 8th | Marathon | 2:10:57 | |||
| 2001 | Beijing Marathon | Beijing, PR China | 5th | Marathon | 2:10:37 | |
| 2002 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 7th | Marathon | 2:10:09 | ||
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 19th | Marathon | 2:12:19 | |
| 2004 | Paris Marathon | Paris, France | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Marathon | 2:08:56 |
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 15th | Marathon | 2:15:39 | ||
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 19th | Marathon | 2:16:36 | |
| 2006 | Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon | San Diego, United States | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Marathon | 2:10:08 |
| Tokyo Marathon | Tokyo, Japan | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Marathon | 2:08:58 | |
| Honolulu Marathon | Honolulu, Hawaii | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Marathon | 2:13:42 | |
| 2007 | Osaka, Japan | 38th | Marathon | 2:30:20 | ||
| Surface | Event | Time (h:min:s) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road | 27:56 | Groesbeek, Netherlands | 10 June 2000 | |
| 1:02:19 | Brussels, Belgium | 5 May 2002 | ||
| 1:15:31 | Tokyo, Japan | 12 February 2006 | ||
| 1:30:43 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 24 April 2002 | ||
| 2:08:56 | Paris, France | 4 April 2004 |