Name: Hiko Tonosa
Club: Dundrum South Dublin AC
Event: Marathon
Personal Best: 2:09.42 NR
Tokyo Schedule: Mon 15 Sept 0:00 (midnight)
Background
Hiko Tonoso was born in Ethiopia, where his juvenile years in athletics were nurtured. He first came to Ireland in 2016 for a few races and returned the following year seeking political asylum. He was granted Irish citizenship in 2020, which enabled him to launch his international career with Ireland.
His first competition in an Irish vest was the 2021 European 10,000m cup in Birmingham where he finished 12th. That summer he became the Irish 10,000m senior champion. In December as the newly crowned Cross-country champion he represented Ireland at the European Cross-Country in Dublin, where he finished 13th.
In 2023 he turned his attention to the longer distances, competing initially over the half marathon distance before running his first marathon in Valencia in December 2023. His 2:15.01 being his debut marathon time. It was in late 2024 that his marathon career really took off. His bid for Olympic qualification in London did not materialize as he had to drop out. He then raced the European Championships in Rome, where he was less than happy with his 1:05.42 effort over the half marathon distance. At this stage the Olympic Games dream was starting to slip and Tonosa chose to move on and work towards the World Championships in Tokyo.
Signs of things improving came when he ran 1:02.46 to finish 8th in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in August. Then came the jewel – his win at the national marathon held in conjunction with the Dublin marathon in October. His time of 2:09.02 was a new national record surpassing the 2020 mark set by Stephen Scullion. He was placed third overall.
In January of this year progress came along nicely with a 4th place finish in the Seville Half Marathon, equaling the national record set by Efrem Gidey at the Copenhagen marathon the previous September. Placing 12th at the Rotterdam marathon in April he was again chasing a national record however, his time was a meagre 10 seconds adrift of his previous best. Two weeks later Peter Lynch (Kilkenny City Harriers) made the record his own.
Formally coached by Feidhlim Kelly (Dublin Track Club), Tonosa is now coached by Gemedu Dedefo, the Ethiopian marathon coach. Tokyo will be his world championship debut.
International Majors
2021: European Cup Birmingham 10,000m 12th Final
2021: European Cross Country Dublin, 13th
2022: European Championships Munich 10,000m 17th Final
2022: European Cross Country Italy, 27th
2024: European Championships Rome 10,000m 12th Final
2025: World Championships 10,000m, Tokyo
Personal Bests
Marathon: 2:09.42 24/10/2024
Half: 1:00.51 =NR 15/09/2024
10,000m: 27:53.10 06/05/2022
5000m: 13:26.02 28/05/2022