Cook Islands sprinter Daniel Tolosa has equalled the longstanding 60 metre national record of 7.23 seconds.

Tolosa achieved this feat at the World Indoor Championship (WIC) in Glasgow, Scotland, over the weekend.

The national record was set by Harmon Harmon on March 5, 2004, at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Tolosa said he was really humbled and proud to represent Cook Islands at the world stage.

“It was an amazing way to compete in my first Indoor meet at the world stage. It’s only the beginning of a new chapter in my career and I’m looking forward to competing in more indoor events in the future and accomplishing more amazing feats as I grow.”

Tolosa said he took part in the 60m dash aiming to at least get a “sub 7”, and he felt that with his training he would be able to deliver that.

However, he was gutted that he didn’t achieve. But he knows that there are more opportunities out there for him to achieve his “sub 7” goal.

Tolosa’s next international event will be the Oceania Athletics Championship from June 1-8 in Suva, Fiji.

He said if the opportunity to go to this year’s Olympics arises, he would definitely take it.

“Over the next four years I’ll be looking to compete in the Mini Games (2025), Oceania (2026), Pacific Games (2027) and the Olympics in L.A (2028) and any other opportunity to compete,” Tolosa said.

“WIC is becoming a yearly event and I’d love to compete in more of them or similar smaller events.”
The young athlete says he has a lot of time to improve and is looking forward to getting back into training.

Tolosa acknowledged everyone who has supported him, Athletics Cook Islands, his family and friends, coach Matthew Wyatt and the rest of the squad.

He also thanked God for blessing him with these opportunities and guiding him throughout his life.

Tolosa was awarded the 2023 Track Athlete of the Year for his performance at the Pacific Games in Honiara, where he reached the 100 metres and 200m semi-finals, setting new personal bests, and chasing down the Cook Islands record with a new national mark of 3:28.74 minute in the 4x400 metres relay. Previously, in 2019, he reached the 100m semi-finals at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletic Champs before unfortunately fracturing his toes and missing the finals.