Leonard Essau Korir (born December 10, 1986) is a Kenyan-born American

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who competes over distances from

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

to the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. He was twice

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

champion, winning an indoor 5000 m title and outdoor

10,000 meters The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

title in 2011 for the

Iona Gaels The Iona Gaels are the athletics teams of Iona University, in New Rochelle, New York. They compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and participate in 21 NCAA Division I programs. Varsity athletic programs Men's basketball I ...

. He gained United States citizenship and began competing for his adoptive nation in 2016.

Career

Early life

Korir attended

Tambach Teachers Training College Tambach Teachers College is a college in Tambach, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya. It is one of the 20 public primary teachers colleges in Kenya and among the last five of such institutions constructed in the late 1980s by the government of Kenya t ...

and it was only there, at the age of twenty, that his skill for running was identified. Strong performances by the

Iten Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya. Iten serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. The town is located along the road between Eldoret and Kabarnet at the junction of the road heading to Kapsowar. ...

-based athlete led him to a meeting with Irish coach

Colm O'Connell Brother Colm O'Connell is an Irish missionary and athletics coach, known as "the Godfather of Kenyan running". O'Connell is originally from Caherduggan, Mallow, County Cork. He joined the Patrician Brothers at the age of 14, training in Tullow, ...

.McCue, Matt (September 23, 2011)
Rising Star: Leonard Korir
''

Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before its acquisition by Hearst, it was founded and published by Rodale, Inc. in E ...

''. Retrieved on 2016-07-13. O'Connell advised him to try for an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

at an American university and supported Korir's running efforts. He opted to study political science at

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

, an institution he recognised as a fellow Kenyan, Richard Kiplagat, had attended there.

College

Despite his running pedigree, Korir did not excel athletically in his first year for the

, finishing fifth at the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and N ...

(MAAC) cross country, though he did reach the

podium in third at the 2010 MAAC Outdoor Track Championships. His improvement was marked in his second year there: he won the MAAC Cross Country title, then took fourth at the

NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams a ...

after winning the regional title. In the 2011 indoor season he won the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

and

distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. U ...

MAAC titles for Iona and set a

school record of 13:26.01 minutes to win at the

NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate indoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their i ...

. He won his second collegiate title at the

NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Athlete's individual performances earn points for ...

that year, topping the field over 10,000 m as well as coming third in the 5000 m. He was runner-up at the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships behind another Kenyan, Lawi Lalang. In his final year he was a finalist at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships but didn't make the top three.Leonard Korir

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on July 13, 2016.

Professional

After completing his studies at Iona he focused more on

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

. He was runner-up at the

Healthy Kidney 10K The UAE Healthy Kidney 10K was an annual road running event over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) that took place in May in New York City in the United States. The event featured both an elite-level men's race and a general mass race for fun runners. Almo ...

in 2012 and made his

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

debut with 61:19 minutes for fourth at the 2013

New York City Half Marathon The New York City Half Marathon (branded as the United Airlines NYC Half) is an annual half marathon road running race from Brooklyn's Prospect Park to Manhattan's Central Park via the Manhattan Bridge, held since 2006. It passes through o ...

. He won the

Bix 7 Road Race The Bix 7 Road Race is held annually in Davenport, Iowa, as a commemoration to Davenport native and jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke. It is followed a week later by the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. Race The 7 mile road race is annually he ...

that same year, but was down the order at the

Delhi Half Marathon Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Rac ...

in ninth. He regularly ran in lower level American road races, with highlights including third at the 2014

Boston Half Marathon Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

. In 2015 a win at the New York Half Marathon in 61:06 minutes established him among the best on the American circuit, as he edged training partner Stephen Sambu by one second. He was third at the BAA 10K and won the Bix 7 Road Race for the second time. He moved back to the track in the 2016 season, achieving a win at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 27:58.65 minutes. In September 2015 Korir joined the U.S. Army as a driver. He gained

eligibility Eligibility may refer to: * The right to run for office (in elections), sometimes called ''passive suffrage'' or ''voting eligibility'' * Desirability as a marriage partner, as in the term ''eligible bachelor'' * Validity for participation, as in ...

to represent the United States in May 2016. In his debut at national level he placed in the top three at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials behind

Galen Rupp Galen Rupp (born May 8, 1986) is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000-meter run in London ...

and Shadrack Kipchirchir (another former Kenyan). This achievement qualified him to place on the American Olympic team for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Personal records

;Track * 1500-meter run – 3:43.65 (2011) *

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

– 4:03.57 (2012) * 3000-meter run – 7:51.40 (2011) *

Two miles The 2 mile (10,560 feet or 3,218.688 metres) is a historic running distance. Like the mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets due its historical chronology in the United States and United Kingdom. It has been larg ...

– 8:22.44 (2013) * 5000-meter run – 13:15.45 (2013) * 10,000-meter run - 27:20.18 (2017) ;Road * 10 Miles – 46:35 (2016) *

Half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

– 59:52 (New Delhi, 2017) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

- 2:07:56 (Amsterdam, 2019) All information from World Athletics.World Athletics. Retrieved on February 20, 2020.
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National titles

* NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships **

10,000 m The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

: 2011 * NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships **5000 m: 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Korir, Leonard Living people 1986 births People from Elgeyo-Marakwet County Kenyan male long-distance runners American male long-distance runners Iona Gaels men's track and field athletes Kenyan emigrants to the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Iona Gaels men's cross country runners U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program