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UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in New York: Kenyan Leonard Komon Wins in Course Record Time of 27:35
From NYRR, Running USA wireNEW YORK--(May 14, 2011)--Leonard Patrick Komon of Kenya strengthened his position as the hottest male distance runner on the planet when he defeated one of the finest 10K men's fields ever assembled, and broke the Central Park 10K record at the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K.
At the 7th edition of the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K on Saturday, May 14, Komon's time of 27 minutes, 35 seconds took seven seconds off Ethiopian Gebre Gebremariam's winning 27:42 from last year and earned him a $20,000 course record bonus, which, added to the $25,000 winner's purse, made Komon's payday the highest for the winner of any non-marathon race in the United States.
Leonard Patrick Komon, 23, who set the world road record for 10K at 26:44 last year in the Netherlands, led wire-to-wire despite the presence of former 10K world record-holder Micah Kogo of Kenya, 2010 IAAF World Cross Country champion Joseph Ebuya of Kenya, and Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, who set the course record at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in Washington, DC, last month in his second major road race victory in two days. The four stayed together through a blazing 4:17 first mile; Kogo and Ebuya hung on through two miles (8:38), but Komon broke away before the three-mile mark, which he reached in 12:55. His lead widened from there to a gap of about 150 meters by the finish line, which Komon crossed with a wide smile on his face.
Behind him, Micah Kogo and Joseph Ebuya staged a sprint duel for second place, with Kogo prevailing, 27:55 to 27:56, the fourth- and fifth-fastest times in Central Park history. Lelisa Desisa edged Kenya's Simon Ndirangu for fourth; both men were timed in 28:19.
"I'm very happy," said Leonard Patrick Komon afterward. "Last night, I was thinking, 'How can I break this course record?' At the halfway point, I saw that I was inside the record; that picked me up a little."
The race is sponsored annually by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates to support awareness and treatment of kidney disease. The $20,000 Zayed Bonus for the course record honors the late Sheikh Zayed, former president of the UAE, who benefited from American expertise when he was treated for kidney disease.
7th UAE Healthy Kidney 10K
New York, NY, Saturday, May 14, 2011
Top Men
1) Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya), 27:35*, $45,000
2) Micah Kogo (Kenya), 27:55, $12,500
3) Joseph Ebuya (Kenya), 27:56, $8000
4) Lelisa Desisa (Ethiopia), 28:19, $5000
5) Simon Ndirangu (Kenya), 28:19, $2500
6) Tesfaye Girma (Ethiopia), 28:25, $2250
7) Ezkyas Sisay (Ethiopia), 28:47, $1250
8) Bado Worku Merdessa (Ethiopia), 29:06, $750
9) Bobby Curtis (USA), 29:09, $250
10) Derese Deniboba (Ethiopia), 29:10, $300
*includes $25,000 Zayed Central Park course record bonus (previous record, 27:42, Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia, 2010)
Top Women
1) Buzunesh Deba (Ethiopia), 33:39, $1000
2) Betsy Burke (USA), 36:13
3) Michaela Laussegger (USA), 37:32
Complete results and photos at www.nyrr.org.