Daniel Komen

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Not to be confused with Daniel Kipchirchir Komen.
Daniel Komen
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Competitor for Kenya Kenya
World Championships
Gold 1997 Athens 5,000 m

Daniel Kipngetich Komen (born 17 May 1976 in Elgeyo-Marakwet District, Kenya)[1] is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Remembered for his rivalry with Haile Gebrselassie, Komen's most notable achievements came in a two-year period between 1996 and 1998, during which he broke a string of world records.[1]

He currently holds the world record for the 3000 metres both outdoors (7:20.67 set in 1996) and indoors (7:24.90 set in 1998). In addition, with his 7.58.61 world record in the 2-mile race set in 1997, he remains the only man in history to run back-to-back sub-four-minute miles.[1]

Komen was also the second man, after Saïd Aouita, to break both the 13-minute mark for the 5,000 m and the 3½-minute mark for the 1,500 m.[citation needed]

Early life

Komen is from the Keiyo sub-tribe of Kalenjin people and grew up in a rural area of Kenya's Rift Valley Province.[1] One of fourteen children,[2] Komen began running at the age of seven as a means of getting to and from school.[1] Komen had an exceptional junior career: at age 17, he placed second at the World Junior Cross Country Championships, and in 1994, he became the World Junior Champion in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.

Career

Komen first appeared in the senior ranks in 1994 when he won a place on Kenya's 10,000 m team for the 1994 Commonwealth Games, later that same year helping pace Moses Kiptanui to a 5,000 m record.[3]

Two years later, Komen began to dominate the 5,000 m.[4] On 1 September 1996 in Rieti, Italy, Komen ran a spectacular world record time of 7:20.67 in the 3000 metres, breaking Noureddine Morceli's former record by 4.44 seconds.

A year later, Komen made history again. In Hechtel, Belgium, Komen became the first (and so far only) man to run two miles in under eight minutes, clocking a world record 7:58.61.[5] His first mile was faster than Roger Bannister's first-ever sub-four, while his second equalled it.[5] Just seven months later, at an Australian athletics meet in Sydney, Komen ran another 7:58, missing his world record by 0.30 seconds.

In August 1997 he broke the 5000 m world record and took two seconds off of Haile Gebrselassie's best to bring it to 12:39.74.

Only twelve days after the previous world record of 7:26.15 was set by Haile Gebrselassie, Komen broke the indoor 3,000-metre record with a time of 7:24.90, set in Budapest on 6 February 1998. This mark is still referred to as "Mount Everest"[6] in athletics circles and has been bettered only twice outdoors, one of them being Komen's own world record. Kenenisa Bekele believes that breaking Komen's record is only "possible on a special day if the pace is good and if everything else also is perfect."[7]

Other accolades include being the 1997 World Championships in Athletics and 1998 Commonwealth Games 5,000-meter champion. He won the 5000 metres race at the 1998 IAAF World Cup.[8]

Out of the limelight since the late 1990s, Komen now serves as chairman of the Keiyo North Rift Athletics Association and as co-director of a private school with his wife, Joyce.[1]

Personal records

Daniel Komen's personal records, and their place on the world ranking of all times, unless otherwise noted. All times and placings are taken from Komen's IAAF bio (as of August 2011):

Distance Time All-Time Rank Date Place
1500 Meters 3:29.46 12th 16 August 1997 Monaco
1 Mile 3:46.38 5th 26 August 1997 Berlin
2000 Meters 4:51.30 9th 5 June 1998 Milano
3000 Meters (outdoor) 7:20.67 World Record 1 September 1996 Rieti
3000 Meters (indoor) 7:24.90 World Record 6 February 1998 Budapest
2 Miles 7:58.61 World Record 19 July 1997[9] Hechtel
5000 Meters 12:39.74 3rd 22 August 1997 Brussels
10,000 Meters 27:38.32 53* 30 August 2002 Brussels

Achievements

Representing  Kenya
1994 World Junior Championships Lisbon, Portugal 1st 5,000 m
1st 10,000 m

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Matt Fitzgerald (March 2011). "What Ever Happened To Daniel Komen?". Competitor Magazine.  Komen is rumoured to be three years older than officially recognised.
  2. ↑ Tanser (2001), p. 186.
  3. ↑ Tanser (2001), p. 185. Komen himself set a world junior record of 12:56.15 as Kiptanui's pace-maker.
  4. ↑ Tanser (2001), p. 185.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 See here for Komen's lap splits: Professor Tom Michalik. "THE EIGHT MINUTE TWO-MILE!!". Personal web page. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  6. ↑ "Bekele to hit the boards for the first time in Stuttgart". iaaf.org. 29 January 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2013.  See paragraph 12 of the article.
  7. ↑ "Bekele gunning for 3000 WR, while Swedish stars share the spotlight – Stockholm preview". iaaf.org. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2013. 
  8. ↑ gbrathletics.com: IAAF WORLD CUP IN ATHLETICS
  9. ↑ World Records and Best Performances

Bibliography

  • Tanser, Toby (2001) [1997]. Train Hard, Win Easy: The Kenyan Way (2nd ed.). Mountain View: Tafnews Press. ISBN 0-911521-60-7. 

External links

Records
Preceded by
Algeria Noureddine Morceli		 Men's 3000 m World Record Holder
1 September 1996 – present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Ethiopia Haile Gebrselassie		 Men's 5000 m World Record Holder
22 August 1997 – 13 June 1998 		Succeeded by
Ethiopia Haile Gebrselassie
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Kenya Moses Kiptanui		 Men's 3000 m Best Year Performance
1996 		Succeeded by
Ethiopia Haile Gebrselassie
Preceded by
Ethiopia Haile Gebrselassie		 Men's 5000 m Best Year Performance
1996 – 1997 		Succeeded by
Ethiopia Haile Gebrselassie


  • 1930 – 1966: 3 miles
  • 1970 – 2006: 5000 metres
Australian National Champions in Men's 5000 m
  • 1930–1965: 3 miles
  • 1966–2008: 5000 metres
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