Leonard Komon for Great South Run
World record holder Leonard Komon is the latest addition to the outstanding field being assembled for the Bupa Great South Run on 30 October.
Komon, the reigning world 10k and 15k record holder has confirmed his participation in the prestigious IAAF Gold Label event , where last year Joseph Ebuya set a UK All-Comers’ record of 45 minutes 16 seconds.
The 23-year-old will have that target in his sights when he lines up in a field which includes fellow Kenyan Abel Kirui, who recently retained his IAAF World Championships marathon title, and Morocco’s Abderrahime Bouramdane, who finished fourth behind him in Daegu.
“In spite of his youth, Komon has been a leading distance runner for a few years now. Last year he became the first man to run under 27 minutes for 10 kilometres, which is phenomenal” said Peter Riley, elite athletes manager of the Bupa Great South Run.
“His time of 26 minutes 44 seconds in Utrecht last September took a massive 17 seconds from the previous record, and he’ll be coming to Portsmouth after another superb victory at the ASICS Grand 10k in Berlin.
“More importantly, five weeks previous to that stunning victory, he missed Haile Gebrselassie’s world record10 mile performance by just four seconds with a fantastic time of 44min 27sec in Zaandam.
“Remarkably he managed it in spite of rain and adverse weather conditions. I’m sure with the quality of the opposition he faces in Portsmouth, there is every chance we will see a new UK All-Comers’ record produced.”
The presence of Komon and the other overseas visitors should bring the best out of British runners Chris Thompson, the 2010 European 10,000m silver medallist, Scott Overall, fifth in last months BMW Berlin Marathon and Andrew Lemoncello, Scotland’s Number One.
