Leonard Patrick Komon (born 10 January 1988) is a Kenyan professional

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 ...

and was the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

holder in the

10 kilometres 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

. His 10K world record in 2010 with a time of 26:44 is a 17 seconds improvement on the previous best. He won a half marathon with 59:14 in 2014 (Berlin), which was the fastest debut half marathon in history at the time. Komon was the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

list at the

2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 30, 2008. The races were held at the Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races ...

and shared in three team golds from 2008 to 2010.

Career

Komon was born in Cheptais in

Mount Elgon District Mount Elgon District (Mt. Elgon District) was an administrative district in the Western Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kapsokwony. In 2010, it was merged into Bungoma County. Geography and demographics The district was located on southea ...

. Komon won his first medals in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

competitions, taking the junior silver medal at the

2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on April 1/2, 2006. The races were held at the Umi-no-nakamichi Seaside Park in Fukuoka, Japan, Japan's National Cross Country Course which is the permanent residence of the annual Fukuo ...

and progressing to win the senior silver at the 2008 edition. He was the 2008 winner of the Cross Internacional de Soria. Komon was close to winning the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the 2009 World Cross Country Championships in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, but he missed out by one second behind

Zersenay Tadese Zersenay Tadese (Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres ...

and

Moses Kipsiro Moses Ndiema Kipsiro (born 2 September 1986 in Singare) is a Ugandan long-distance runner who specialises in the 5000 metres. He was the bronze medallist in the event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. He represented Uganda at the 2 ...

. He completed a strong 2009–2010 cross country season in Spain, finishing third in the Cross de la Constitucion (Alcobendas) and first in both the Cross de Itálica (Sevilla) and the Cross de Elgoibar (Basque Country). This marked him out a contender for a medal at the 2010 World Cross Country Championships in Poland. Having been among the leading four runners in the final lap at the championships, he looked set to claim third place but a late sprint in the final 100 m saw

Moses Ndiema Kipsiro Moses Ndiema Kipsiro (born 2 September 1986 in Singare) is a Ugandan long-distance runner who specialises in the 5000 metres. He was the bronze medallist in the event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. He represented Uganda at the 2 ...

overhaul the Kenyan. They both recorded a time of 33:10 and Komon ended up in fourth, although his finish did help the Kenyan men (led by

Joseph Ebuya Joseph Ebuya (born 20 June 1987) is a Kenyan professional runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and was the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships champion. Early life and career Ebuya is a rare example of a runner representing the Tur ...

) to the team gold medal – an exact repeat of his performance from the previous year. He set a personal best over

5000 metres 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 stan ...

on the track at the 2009

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pie ...

in Rome, running 12:58.24 for third place behind

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele ( om, Qananiisaa baqqalaa; am, ቀነኒሳ በቀለ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) unti ...

and

Mark Kiptoo Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

. In September 2010, at the Singelloop in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Komon ran a world record for the 10-kilometre road race with a time of 26:44 minutes. This was a seventeen-second improvement upon

Micah Kogo Micah Kemboi Kogo (born 3 June 1986 in Burnt Forest, Uasin Gishu District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in the 10,000 metres. He is the former world record holder in the 10 kilometres road race event with a time of 27 ...

's previous best as Komon became the first man under 27 minutes over the road distance. He continued his strong form at the

Grand 10 Berlin The Grand 10 Berlin is an annual road running event over ten kilometres which is held in October in Berlin, Germany. It is officially known as the ''ASICS Grand 10 Berlin'' due to its sponsorship by the sportswear manufacturer.

race, where he took on former record holder Kogo and comprehensively beat him, finishing in 27:12 – over a minute ahead his rival. On 21 November 2010 Komon set his second world record of the year. Winning the

Zevenheuvelenloop Zevenheuvelenloop (''Seven Hills Run'' in English) is an annual 15 kilometres road running race held in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands;van Hemert, Wim & T ...

15K in 41:13 minutes, he bettered the former mark held by

Felix Limo Felix Limo (born 22 August 1980) is a Kenyan former long-distance runner, who specialized in the marathon. Limo held the 15 Kilometres road running List of world records in athletics, world record from November 2001 to November 2010, where he los ...

and

Deriba Merga Deriba Merga Ejigu ( am, ደርባ መርጋ አጅጉ; born 26 October 1980) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. He mainly competes in the marathon. He finished fourth in that event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and went on to win ...

by sixteen seconds. Komon began preparing for the cross country championships in January and came second at the

Campaccio The Campaccio is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in early January in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy. Organised by the ''Unione Sportiva Sangiorgese'' (Sangiorgese Sports Association), the event attracts participation fr ...

race behind reigning champion Ebuya, then retained his title at the Cross de Itálica. A sixth-place finish at the

Kenyan Cross Country Championships The Kenyan Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running competition that serves as the national championship for Kenya. It is organised by Athletics Kenya and has permit race status from the International Association of Athletics ...

brought him a spot for the World team. The governing body,

Athletics Kenya Athletics Kenya (AK) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (track and field) in Kenya. It is a member of World Athletics and Confederation of African Athletics. AK organises athletics competitions held in Kenya. It also sends Kenyan team ...

, removed him from the team however, as he defied their orders not to compete at the

World's Best 10K The World's Best 10K (WB10K) is a road race of 10 kilometers celebrated in San Juan, Puerto Rico every year. It is certified by the Association of International Marathons and Road Races (AIMS) and by the International Amateur Athletic Federati ...

in February, at which he came fourth. He produced a course record time to win at the

UAE 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 ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

that April. In October, he set his sights on running a 10-mile world record at the

Great South Run The Great South Run is an annual 10 mile (16.09 km) road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom providing an intermediate distance between the ten kilometre and the half marathon (21.097 km) runs. Launched in 1990 ...

, but a slow second half undid his initial quick pace, although he did beat

Abel Kirui Abel Kirui (born 6 April 1982) is a long-distance runner from Kenya who competes in marathons. He had back-to-back wins in the World Championship marathon in 2009 and 2011. Kirui won in 2009 with a time of 2:06:54, then defended his title with ...

to win the race. He also won the Grand 10 Berlin race for a second time running that month. Turning to the grass circuits of Spain, he took a comfortable win over Kidane Tadesse at the

Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio The Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Llodio in the Basque Country, Spain, around late November. The event was first held in February 1985 and changed to an end-of-year competiti ...

. His 2011 ended with a win at the Silvesterlauf Peuerbach. He was injured for much of 2012 but returned to action in September with a run of 27:01.58 minutes for fifth in the

Memorial Van Damme The Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now the final event of the Diamond L ...

10,000 m. He won the

Dam tot Damloop Dam tot Damloop (''Dam to Dam Run'' in English) is an annual road running competition held in North Holland in the Netherlands. It is a Silver Label 10-mile race from Amsterdam to Zaandam. The event was first held as a fun run event in 1985 and ...

for a second year running, but was slower than his previous outing, leading him to question his performance. He took a third straight victory at the Grand 10 Berlin, was second to Nicholas Kipkemboi at the Zevenheuvelenloop, then won the Peuerbach race again on New Year's Eve. Komon won the

in May but had a quiet season after failing to qualify for the 10,000 m at the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

. He was fifth at the

10-miler, but managed to retain his title at the Grand 10 Berlin. Komon won the

Crescent City Classic The Crescent City Classic is an annual 10-kilometer race held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Mac DeVaughn founded the Classic and held the first race in 1979. The race was originally held in the Fall, but the race is now held the Saturda ...

in 2014 and won third place at the 17th

Prague Half Marathon The Prague Half Marathon (known as the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in Spring on the city streets of Prague, Czech Republic, first held in 1999. It ...

in 2015.Monti, David (28 March 2015)
RRW: Favorites Falter at Prague Half-Marathon
LetsRun.com/Race Results Weekly Retrieved on 6 October 2015.

Achievements

Personal bests

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

– 7:33.27 min (2009) *

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 ...

– 8:22.57 min (2007) *

– 12:58.24 min (2006) *

10,000 metres 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 ...

– 26:55.29 min (2011) *10K – 26:44 min (2010) *15K – 41:13 min (2010) Half Marathon 59:14 (2014) (fastest debut half marathon in history)

References

External links

*
''IAAF: Focus on Athletes'' – Leonard Patrick Komon
16 March 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Komon, Leonard 1988 births Living people Kenyan male long-distance runners World Athletics record holders People from Mount Elgon District Kenyan male cross country runners