Ethiopia's Ambesse Tolossa has been disqualified as the 2007 Honolulu Marathon men's champion and suspended by his country's sports federation after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found the runner had a banned substance in his system.

The action, announced today, comes after the Honolulu Marathon started testing the top men's and women's finishers again. Honolulu Marathon president Jim Barahal said he wanted to ensure fair competition after the 2006 women's champion, Lyubov Denisova of Russia, tested positive out of competition for a performance-enhancing drug three months after her Honolulu victory.

Tolossa tested positive in two samples for an opiate. He will be banned from international competition through April 4, 2010.

Kenya's Jimmy Muindi, the 2007 runner-up, will be awarded his sixth Honolulu crown. Muindi will also receive the $40,000 first-place prize money. It is the marathon's policy to withhold prize money until the runners have passed a drug test. Tolossa never received his money.

Tolossa's 2007 time was 2 hours, 17 minutes, 26 seconds. Muindi crossed the line 1:27 later.