Daniel Kipngetich Komen was born on 17 May 1976 and is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner.
16 Facts About Daniel Komen
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Daniel Komen held the world best in the two mile run for nearly 26 years.
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Daniel Komen's splits were 3:59.4 on both the first and second half of the race.
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Daniel Komen is the Kenyan record holder for the 5000 metres both outdoors and indoors.
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Daniel Komen was the second man, after Said Aouita, to break the 3.
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Daniel Komen is from the Keiyo sub-tribe of Kalenjin people and grew up in a rural area of Kenya's Rift Valley Province.
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One of fourteen children, Daniel Komen began running at the age of seven as a means of getting to and from school.
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Haile Gebrselassie 8.
Daniel Komen's running abilities were discovered and at the age of 14 he travelled to Australia.
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Daniel 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.
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The next year, at the Golden Gala meet in Rome, Daniel 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.
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On 1 September 1996 in Rieti, Italy, Daniel 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.
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Daniel 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 Daniel Komen.
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Just seven months later, at an Australian athletics meet in Sydney, Daniel Komen ran 7:58.91, missing his world best by 0.30 seconds.
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Only twelve days after the previous world record of 7:26.15 was set by Haile Gebrselassie, Daniel Komen broke the indoor 3,000-metre record with a time of 7:24.90, set in Budapest on 6 February 1998.
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Daniel Komen won the 5000 metres race at the 1998 IAAF World Cup.
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Out of the limelight since the late 1990s, Daniel Komen now serves as chairman of the Keiyo North Rift Athletics Association and as co-director of a private school with his wife, Joyce.