What was the real reason Daniel Komen quit in his prime?

His best distance was the 3000m/5000m

5000m progression:

2004 13:16.26 Rovereto (ITA) 08 SEP 2004

2003 13:28.56 Lille (FRA) 15 JUN 2003

2001 13:01.98 Athina (GRE) 11 JUN 2001

2000 13:01.78 Bruxelles (BEL) 25 AUG 2000

1999 12:55.16 Roma (ITA) 07 JUL 1999

1998 12:54.82 Bruxelles (BEL) 28 AUG 1998

1997 12:39.74 Bruxelles (BEL) 22 AUG 1997

1996 12:45.09 Zürich (SUI) 14 AUG 1996

1995 12:56.15 Roma (ITA) 08 JUN 1995

1994 13:31.10 Algiers (ALG) 08 JUL 1994

3000m progression:

2004 8:04.57 Antananarivo (MAD) 21 APR 2004

2003 7:52.52 Lucerne (SUI) 25 JUN 2003

2002 7:44.36 Doha (QAT) 15 MAY 2002

2001 7:43.76 Doha (QAT) 18 MAY 2001

2000 7:28.92 Monaco (MON) 18 AUG 2000

1999 7:29.43 Monaco (MON) 04 AUG 1999

1998 7:32.55 Paris (FRA) 29 JUL 1998

1997 7:30.49 Oslo (NOR) 04 JUL 1997

1996 7:20.67 Rieti (ITA) 01 SEP 1996

1995 7:38.09 Monaco (MON) 09 SEP 1995

It would be interesting to hear a interview from him now, retrospecting on what he did wrong.

He ran 6 more seasons after his prime

It is a shame we didn't get to see his potential. It would have been fun to see him racing Bekele when Bekele became the best. I literally think it would have made both all there pbs faster. They would have pushed each other. Bekele didn't evan reach his peak in 5 or 10k. I literally think Bekele would have the wr of 12:30. Maybe Komen would have 12:32. It would be fun to see Komen moving up to concentrate on 10k and marathons after a few more years to.

We didn't get to see the potential of someone who ran 12:39 for 5000m?

I think we did.

Star wrote:

We didn't get to see the potential of someone who ran 12:39 for 5000m?

I think we did.

Agreed. Banana Bread's post was one of the craziest I've seen here. What is the potential of a guy who ran 3:29, 7:20, 7:58, 12:30 and who broke Gebrselassie in his prime? We've seen it.

This is what unlimited EPO use looks like. See if you can guess the year the test for EPO came out...

he was a 13:31.10 clean guy, and prob a 8:00 3km......very very very similar to our greatest running nerd, rupp

he then hops on the sauce full throttle and takes 30+ seconds off. to about the PR of rupp again. here is where things change. komen was able to squeeze more from himself than most can on EPO, why? cause he wasnt mindweak he was hungry as balz for that cash money! he runs super fast but isnt selected for the 96 olympics. so then after that he goes on a streak of destruction. trained to hard, chip on his shoulder, too much EPO, bad on his health, add those together and you get a heart that has red lined too many times. he still sauces after that, but has lost drive to train that hard, to push that hard to run after that white mans clock.

i believe that around 2002 he was off the sauce and not training as hard, and thought "why am i doing this, its not fun anymore"

then out of shape, no drive he runs times he ran before he ever tried EPO and became rich

there you have it, a guy with prob no better than 54 400m speed was able to run what he did

just cause EPO can make you drop times with the same effort given, it doesnt mean it stops hurting

I'm pleased ive heard it first hand here

> What was the real reason Daniel Komen quit in his prime?

1) He didn't quit in his prime.

2) The introduction of a test for epo cut his "prime" short.

It never stops hurting, you just get faster.

EPO lets you go far beyond the redline, and hold it for insane amounts of time. That basically kills a part of you, every single time. The only reason you can continue is because of the EPO.

DK EPO wrote:

> What was the real reason Daniel Komen quit in his prime?

1) He didn't quit in his prime.

2) The introduction of a test for epo cut his "prime" short.

People keep saying #2, but it is not true. Starting in 99 or 2000 or even 2004 there wasn't some full proof "You took EPO!" test out there. It is not the same as testing for THC (as an example). All the way up into 2008 you could still basically take EPO as much as you wanted (which is why we had WRs set in the 2004/2005 time frame). I think as little as one day was enough to be clear. Funny how we now hear that at least for Kiprop, he was getting a day's notice...

By 2008 Olympics was there a definitive "EPO test" and it was specific markers for a specific type of EPO called CERA (Micera). Cyclists Riccardo Ricco and Davide Rebellin both got popped shortly thereafter.

Remember Lance Armstrong himself never tested positive for EPO and he had way way way more exposure to testing during the Tour and it was still trivial to beat.

I think Komen just got lazy or maybe some injury which made the 2000 Olympics unlikely, and he lost motivation.

Also, Danilo Di Luca was busted in 2009 for the same. All Italian cyclists. Add in the Italian doctors or "trainers" also implicated, that is why I find Kenyan dominance very suspicious with the Italian managers out there. Don't get me wrong, I love Italy and Italian is the language I chose to learn as a second language, but there is a long history there.,

Lance knew the EPO test was real and that's why he switched to blood transfusions after 1999. This was the most advanced doper in the world at the time and way before the EPO microdosing we're going through now.

You don't know what your saying. We know he could of done faster in the 5k and especially 10k. I literally think of what his potential would of been like if he had the same length career as Geb. People here enjoy coming here to call me crazy and nutty. Well I have more brains then I know what to do with and I know running. He may have run 12:35 and 26:20.

red lined too many times, trained super hard and crushed it with EPO.....EPO can make you good but you still have to put in the effort. he wasnt willing to put in the effort anymore cause he pushed to the max tooooo many times. not just in races, but i am sure he red lined a lot in practices.

too many times and he was mentally done. when you become mindweak, EPO can only take you so far.

Banana Bread wrote:

You don't know what your saying. We know he could of done faster in the 5k and especially 10k. I literally think of what his potential would of been like if he had the same length career as Geb. People here enjoy coming here to call me crazy and nutty. Well I have more brains then I know what to do with and I know running. He may have run 12:35 and 26:20.

You are the best troll in existence.

ex-runner wrote:

Banana Bread wrote:

You don't know what your saying. We know he could of done faster in the 5k and especially 10k. I literally think of what his potential would of been like if he had the same length career as Geb. People here enjoy coming here to call me crazy and nutty. Well I have more brains then I know what to do with and I know running. He may have run 12:35 and 26:20.

You are the best troll in existence.

i think the best troll in existence is rekrunner, he does it so well he doesnt even know he is trolling!

I wonder suddenly how, with the Europeans always so hell-bent on conquering and destroying each other, little principalities like Monaco and Liechtenstein are able to exist independently.