Komen Says He's Not Yet Ready to Quit
Posted Wednesday, 31 August, 2005
By David Macharia
The Nation (Nairobi)
At 29, Daniel Komen is a relatively young athlete who peaked too early and reached the plateau prematurely after shattering several world records as his peers continue to burn the tartan.
But Komen, whose performance lately has not been impressive, has one final ambition: To run a big city marathon, win, and finally quit at the top.
Komen says he would like to hung up his spikes in four years' time.
The Kenyan star has been running since 1992 during which period he set world records in quick succession.
His biggest regret is that he was left out of Kenya's 1996 Olympic Games squad by what he terms as a "cruel selection procedure" that leaves his cabinet without an Olympic medal.
It was through the bitterness of being denied this chance to participate at the Olympics in Atlanta that the following summer, Komen broke the 1,500 metres world record by clocking three minutes, 29.46 seconds in Monaco.
He was not done yet. Six days later, he broke the 5,000 metres world record in Brussells and four days later, Komen shattered the one mile record in Berlin, clocking 3:46.38.
"The records I set in 1997 were to prove to those who excluded me from the Olympic team that I was in very good shape for the 1996 Games," he said in Eldoret.
But Komen's greatest achievement to date is the 3,000 metres outdoor world record he set in Rieti (7:20.67).
This is the only of his world records that has remained intact.
To display his confidence that the mark will take a long time to improve on, Komen has promised a car or cash bonus to any Kenyan athlete who beats that mark on home soil.
Komen is disappointed with the way track and field is managed in Kenya, singling this out as the main reason behind the dwindling fortunes of Kenya's track stars.
"We have allowed all kinds of people to get into the sport," he says. "Some just seek posts because they want to be given trips abroad and not that they have the interest of the sport at heart."
Komen is best remembered for being the only athlete to continuously run several sub-four minutes in the mile. This was prior to setting the two-miles world record of 7:58.61.
He is also credited with the being the second runner to break the 13-minute barrier in the 5,000m.
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