Tonosa equals Irish half marathon record in Seville

Subject to ratification, the record marks another breakthrough for the Ethiopian-born athlete. 

LANDMARK: Hiko Tonosa grew up in Ethiopia and first came to Ireland in 2017. Pic: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Hiko Tonosa equalled the Irish half marathon record of 60:51 in Seville on Sunday morning, the 29-year-old matching the mark set by Efrem Gidey in Copenhagen last September. The race was won by Kenya’s Vinicent Nyageo in 59:33.

Subject to ratification, the record marks another breakthrough for the Ethiopian-born Tonosa, who set the Irish marathon record of 2:09:42 in Dublin last October. That time took seven seconds off the previous Irish record of 2:09:49, run by Stephen Scullion in London in 2020.

The quickest Irish marathon performance of all time remains the 2:09:15 run by John Treacy in Boston in 1988, a course which is not eligible for record purposes due to its net elevation drop. That’s also an issue on the Irish all-time half marathon list, with Alistair Cragg’s time of 60:49 not ratified as a national record due to the course in New York having a net elevation drop above the allowable limit.

Tonosa grew up in Ethiopia and first came to Ireland in 2017 for a couple of track races, but while in Dublin he was informed his friend had been killed back home for attending a protest against the government’s persecution of the Oromo people. Tonosa was told by his family that his life would be under threat if he returned home and so he sought asylum and was placed in direct provision. He gained Irish citizenship in March 2020 and went on to don the green vest at various international events in the years since.

He is currently preparing for the Rotterdam Marathon in April, where he will try to secure qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo later this year, with this morning’s run in Seville giving a significant boost to world rankings.

Elsewhere, Mark English had a strong run in Nantes on Saturday, the four-time European medallist finishing second over 800m in 1:46.48 behind France’s Yanis Meziane. European U20 long jump champion Elizabeth Ndudi got her season off to a strong start by jumping 6.24m at an event in Illinois, where she attends university. Irish shot put record holder Eric Favors launched a 19.15m throw to finish second at the Jablonec indoor meeting in Czechia.