Why did Daniel Komen quit running when he could have become the untouchable GOAT?

Do you have any idea how difficult it was for him? He worked so hard and took drugs to be the best. Have you reached your potential?

Insanely Fast! wrote:

His 3000m and 2 mile times were other worldly. His talent level was clearly superior to that of Haile Gebrselassie,Kenenisa Bekele and Hicham El Guerrouj. Disappointing that he quit the game so young when he could have run faster times in the 1500,5000 and 10,000 meters. I believe talent wise he is the GOAT Runner

According to a few sources, he was originally in it for money, accomplished everything he wanted to, and quickly lost motivation.

For guys like Gebrselassie, Bekele, etc. running was the end, by which they use all their means to excel at. For Komen, running was just the means to get money to live comfortably, and once he had it, he was done.

Running is boring.

Looking back at Komen and remembering how dominant he was, how easy it looked for him, and most importantly those big blood shot eyes. Really makes you wonder how doped out of his mind he actually was.

Moore off wrote:

Do you have any idea how difficult it was for him? He worked so hard and took drugs to be the best. Have you reached your potential?

That probably wasn't his best. His coach said that when he tried to target a world record, he had no idea what the record was, no idea what pace he was supposed to run, and just told him to indicate whether he should go faster or slower with each lap. He also ran a Sub-4 mile in the middle of the 5000m World Championship just because he could. All Komen knew how to do was run quickly. Had he actually put any amount of planning/thought into these things, he could probably have run even faster.

If that's true it's insane. Obviously the guy was talented, but that's nuts.

UQH wrote:

Moore off wrote:

Do you have any idea how difficult it was for him? He worked so hard and took drugs to be the best. Have you reached your potential?

That probably wasn't his best. His coach said that when he tried to target a world record, he had no idea what the record was, no idea what pace he was supposed to run, and just told him to indicate whether he should go faster or slower with each lap. He also ran a Sub-4 mile in the middle of the 5000m World Championship just because he could. All Komen knew how to do was run quickly. Had he actually put any amount of planning/thought into these things, he could probably have run even faster.

TrackBot! Compare Daniel Komen vs Hicham El Guerrouj

he got addicted to alcohol sadly

Head-to-head record between Daniel Komen (left) and Hicham El Guerrouj (right):

Sarajevo 1996-09-09: 1500 m: 3:35.16 (2) VS 3:34.38 (1)

ISTAF Berlin 1997-08-26: One Mile: 3:46.38 (2) VS 3:45.64 (1)

Bislett Oslo 1998-07-09: 1500 m: 3:33.93 (3) VS 3:29.12 (1)

GGala Roma 1998-07-14: 1500 m: 3:31.10 (4) VS 3:26.00 (1)

Herc Monaco 1998-08-08: 1500 m: 3:32.81 (9) VS 3:28.37 (1)

WK Zürich 1998-08-12: 1500 m: 3:30.49 (4) VS 3:26.45 (1)

ISTAF Berlin 1998-09-01: 1500 m: 3:35.04 (7) VS 3:30.23 (1)

GPF Moskva 1998-09-05: 1500 m: 3:33.86 (6) VS 3:32.03 (1)

WK Zürich 1999-08-11: 1500 m: 3:35.42 (10) VS 3:28.57 (1)

VD Bruxelles 1999-09-03: 3000 m: 7:36.55 (8) VS 7:23.09 (1)

Daniel "DEVASTATED" Komen total wins: 0

Hicham "MF" El Guerrouj total wins: 10

I am a bot. Info: habs.sdf.org/trackbot

The OP claimed Komen was better than El G but the evidence disproves this, both must have been doping.

Would be a more interesting list if it wasn't all 1500s, with one 3k years after komens prime.

Years? Try about a year and they are the same age.

Komen was never the same after Zurich in 1997. Geb destroyed him in the final 200 and I think it was a huge blow to Komen's confidence. I don't think Komen thought he could beat Geb after that race.

Jeepers wrote:

Looking back at Komen and remembering how dominant he was, how easy it looked for him, and most importantly those big blood shot eyes. Really makes you wonder how doped out of his mind he actually was.

Uhh... What do blood shot eyes have to do with doping?

Learn some biology.

Insanely Fast! wrote:

His 3000m and 2 mile times were other worldly. His talent level was clearly superior to that of Haile Gebrselassie,Kenenisa Bekele and Hicham El Guerrouj. Disappointing that he quit the game so young when he could have run faster times in the 1500,5000 and 10,000 meters. I believe talent wise he is the GOAT Runner

Life is designed to adapt and improve. There will always be improvements in some way. He led the way like a Pioneer and that is enough. He put a mark out there for people to strive for. That is enough.

fwiw wrote:

Komen was never the same after Zurich in 1997. Geb destroyed him in the final 200 and I think it was a huge blow to Komen's confidence. I don't think Komen thought he could beat Geb after that race.

Uhhhmmmm ...... what was it, ten days after this race that Komen broke Geb's 5000m world record? What do you think Komen might have run if his confidence wasn't "blown"? Six months later he ran 7:24 a still standing indoor WR.

Malaria, injuries, inconsistent motivation... he was still trying to make a comeback as late as 2007.

Could it be that "Malaria" = PRCA or Pure Red-Cell Aplasia?

A number of cases of PRCA were reported in Europe during this era and were associated with subcutaneous injections of epoetin alfa / Eprex.

PRCA is an autoimmune response in which EPO antibodies are produced and the antibodies attack EPO (natural or otherwise).