DOUBLE WORLD RECORD HOLDER KOMON ADDED TO BUPA GREAT SOUTH RUN FIELD
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.
Ends
Further Information about the event:
David Hart, Communications Director, Nova International
0191 2263230/07771 983688
Editors Notes
Nova International
The Bupa Great South Run is brought to you by a partnership between event organisers Nova International and Portsmouth City Council and is sponsored by Bupa.
Nova International, headed by Olympic medalist, Brendan Foster, is one of the UK's leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company's current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Bupa Great North Run, the world's biggest half marathon with over 54,000 entries.
Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova has established itself as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org.
To apply for media accreditation for the Bupa Great South Run weekend visit www.greatrun.org/
Bupa
Bupa's purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives.
A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare.
With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare. We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing.
Employing nearly 52,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America.
For more information, visit www.bupa.com
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