Tomas Abyu

Tomas Abyu (born 5 May 1978) is an Ethiopian-born British long-distance runner.

Abyu grew up in the Arsi region of Ethiopia, as a junior he trained with Gezahegne Abera.^[1] Abyu left Ethiopia where his father had been killed in the civil war.^[2] He came to the United Kingdom as a political refugee and was given asylum in 2000, becoming a British citizen in 2005.^[1]

Abyu made his marathon debut in Manchester in October 2002, winning the event in 2:25:28.^[3] He transferred allegiance in 2006 becoming eligible to represent Great Britain in athletics.

He improved to record a marathon personal best of 2:10:37, finishing second, at the Dublin Marathon in Oct 2007.^[4] The time was better than Beijing Olympic British team qualifying time (2:12), but the Dublin Marathon was not a recognized event, so Abyu needed to meet the qualifying time at the 2008 London Marathon.^[1][2] Unfortunately he finished in a time of 2:15:49, placed 16th and the second Britain behind Dan Robinson.^[5]

Tomas Abyu, is an Ethiopian-born British long-distance runner.

International competition

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Great Britain
2006	2006 European Athletics Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	27th	Marathon	2:20:45

Other Races

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
2003	Loch Ness Marathon	Inverness, UK	1st	Marathon	2:20:59
2003	Sheffield Marathon	Sheffield, UK	1st	Marathon	2:27:42
2006	London Marathon	London, UK	16th	Marathon	2:15:50
2006	Sheffield Half Marathon	Sheffield, UK	1st	Half Marathon	1:04:05
2006	Great Cumbrian Run	Carlisle, UK	1st	Half Marathon	1:08:22
2006	Windsor Half Marathon	Windsor, UK	1st	Half Marathon	1:06:27
2007	Watford Half Marathon	Watford, UK	1st	Half Marathon	1:04:50
2007	Four Villages Half Marathon	Helsby, UK	1st	Half Marathon	1:04:56
2007	Great North Run	Newcastle upon Tyne, UK	4th	Half Marathon	1:02:50 (PB)
2007	Dublin Marathon	Dublin, Ireland	2nd	Marathon	2:10:37 (PB)
2008	London Marathon	London, UK	16th	Marathon	2:15:49
2008	Four Villages Half Marathon	Helsby, UK	1st	Half Marathon	1:05:22
2009	London Marathon	London, UK	19th	Marathon	2:20:09
2010	Loch Ness Marathon	Inverness, UK	1st	Marathon	2:20:50
2011	London Marathon	London, UK	28th	Marathon	2:21:25
2011	Loch Ness Marathon	Inverness, UK	1st	Marathon	2:20:50
2011	Windsor Half Marathon	Windsor, UK	1st	Half Marathon	1:10:05
2012	Jersey Marathon	Jersey, UK	1st	Marathon	2:24:43
2014	Loch Ness Marathon	Inverness, UK	1st	Marathon	2:22:41

References

1. "Abyu quick to make a name for himself". The Independent. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
2. Richard Lewis (13 April 2008). "Tomas Abyu runs for his life". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
3. Power of 10 Manchester Marathon result
4. RunBritain Dublin Marathon result 2007
5. RunBritain London Marathon result 2008

External links

• Tomas Abyu at Power of 10
• Tomas Abyu at World Athletics
• Tomas Abyu at ARRS