Daniel Komen

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):

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" 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."

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.

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.

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 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, Komen began running at the age of seven as a means of getting to and from school. 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.

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. 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.

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.

Daniel Kipngetich Komen (born 17 May 1976) 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.