Daniel Kipngetich Komen (born 17 May 1976) Komen is rumoured to be three years older than officially recognised. is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Remembered for his rivalry with Haile Gebrselassie, his most notable achievements came in a two-year period between 1996 and 1998, during which he broke a string of world records.

Komen held the world record in the 3000 metres for nearly 28 years, with a time of 7:20.67 set in 1996. Komen also held the world best in the two mile run for nearly 26 years. With his time of 7:58.61 set in 1997, he, along with Jakob Ingebrigtsen, are the only two men in history to average two miles at a sub-four-minute mile pace. Komen's splits were 3:59.4 on both the first and second half of the race. He is also the Kenyan record holder for the 5000 metres both outdoors and indoors.

Komen was the second man, after Saïd Aouita, to break the 3-minute mark for the 1500 m, the 7-minute mark for 3000 m, and the 13-minute mark for the 5000 m.

Early life Komen was born in Elgeyo Marakwet District. He is from the Keiyo sub-tribe of Kalenjin people and grew up in a rural area of Kenya's Rift Valley Province. One of fourteen children,Tanser (2001), p. 186. Komen began running at the age of seven as a means of getting to and from school. His running abilities were discovered and at the age of 14 he travelled to Australia. 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, placing ninth. The next year, at the Golden Gala meet in Rome, Komen set the world junior record in the 5,000m with a time of 12:56.15, helping pace Moses Kiptanui to a world record in the process.Tanser (2001), p. 185.

In 1996, Komen began to dominate the 5,000 m. 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. Komen's record stood untouched for nearly 28 years, with Hicham El Guerrouj's 1999 time of 7:23.09 being over two seconds behind Komen. Jakob Ingebrigtsen would break the record on 25 August 2024, clocking 7:17.55 to become the first man under 7:20.

A year later, on 19 July 1997, Komen made history again. In Hechtel, Belgium, he became the first man to run two miles in under eight minutes, clocking a world best of 7:58.61.See here for Komen's lap splits: His first mile was faster than Roger Bannister's first-ever sub-four, while his second equalled it. Just seven months later, at an Australian athletics meet in Sydney, Komen ran 7:58.91, missing his world best by 0.30 seconds. This performance makes Komen the only man in history to break 8 minutes in the two mile more than once. His 7:58.61 world best in the two mile stood for nearly 26 years, until 9 June 2023 when Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran 7:54.10.

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 was referred to as "Mount Everest" See paragraph 12 of the article. in athletics circles and had been bettered only twice outdoors, one of them being Komen's own world record. Kenenisa Bekele believed that breaking Komen's record was only "possible on a special day if the pace is good and if everything else also is perfect." This mark, having stood for more than 25 years, was bettered on 15 February 2023 by Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma with a time of 7:23.81 in the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Lievin. Spain's Mohamed Katir also went under Komen's previous record with a time of 7:24.68.

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.gbrathletics.com: IAAF WORLD CUP IN ATHLETICS

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.

Achievements Personal bests Daniel Komen's personal bests, and their place on the world ranking of all times, unless otherwise noted. All times and placings are taken from Komen's World Athletics bio (). Distance Time All-Time Rank Date Place 1500 metres 3:29.46 31st 16 August 1997 Monaco Mile 3:46.38 8th 26 August 1997 Berlin 2000 metres 4:51.30 17th 5 June 1998 Milan 3000 metres 7:20.67 2nd, AR, NR1 September 1996 Rieti 3000 metres indoor 7:24.90 3rd 6 February 1998 Budapest Two miles 7:58.61 2nd 19 July 1997World Records and Best Performances Hechtel 5000 metres 12:39.74 6th, 22 August 1997 Brussels 5000 metres indoor 12:51.48 3rd, 19 February 1998 Stockholm 10,000 metres 27:38.32 479th* 30 August 2002 Brussels

International competitions 1994World Cross Country ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary2ndU20 race24:171stU20 team18 ptsAfrican Junior ChampionshipsAlgiers, Algeria1st5000 m13:31.10World Junior ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal1st5000 m13:45.371st10,000 m28:29.741997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece 1st5000 m13:07.381998World Cross Country ChampionshipsMarrakesh, Morocco2ndShort race10:461stShort race team10 ptsAfrican ChampionshipsDakar, Senegal 1st5000 m13:35.70World CupJohannesburg, South Africa 1st5000 m13:46.57Commonwealth GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st5000 m13:22.57

References

Bibliography

External links

Kimbia Athletics profile (archive.org) Highlight footage of his 7:58.61 record for 2 miles Video recording of Komen's outdoor 3,000m record A biographical article "What Ever Happened to Daniel Komen?" that includes much race information from Komen's career