“It’s a very big deal for me,” Leonard Essau Korir said with a heavy voice. The Kenya-born athlete will compete today at the Paris Olympics, proudly wearing the Stars and Stripes on his chest. This marks his first appearance at the Olympics, but the journey that brought him here has been no less challenging than a marathon itself, filled with steep climbs and deep descents. Transitioning from his Kenyan roots to becoming teammates with Clayton Young and Conner Mantz has been an entirely different experience for Korir.

While living in Kenya, Leonard Korir earned a US scholarship to find a place at Iona University. Meanwhile, the 2012 batch athlete bagged two NCAA titles and joined the US Army in 2015. Serving as the Staff Sergeant right now, his utmost patriotism is driving him to go big at the Paris Olympics. Furthermore, he is going to have new experiences this time. 

Three years ago, Leonard Korir attempted the 10,000 meters at the US Olympic Trials. However, in the final, no silver lining was for him as he ended the race in 15th place. But this time, he is at the forefront of making his marathon comeback. In one of his interviews, the 37-year-old shared, “This time I’m moving up a little bit in the distance so I’m excited I got the opportunity.”  Ultimately, at the US Olympic marathon trials this year, Leonard took up the third position. But he had to wait more days to notice his name cemented in the final berth. 

The world ranking mattered at the penultimate time to allow him a position in the selection. “I didn’t know I was going to be an Olympian one day, but I just took step by step improving in my running and I realized I can be there with running with the big big guys,” he commented on his overall journey. Ultimately, he knows that he is going to turn the table this time at the Olympics, as he possesses a special weapon. 

Narrating his support from his family, Leonard Korir explained that his parents are still in Kenya. They regularly follow their son’s taking on the destiny. They will be in the same mood when Leonard will be running at the Paris Olympics. “ Part of us is representing Kenya, part of us in East Kenya and part of America. So they are excited for me and they are up for me,” he didn’t miss to add. Yet, the ending didn’t remain as expected today. 

Leonard Korir falls short of meeting his Olympic destiny 

Today Leonard Korir wasn’t penetrative enough to land the victory. He stopped at the 63rd position, while his compatriots Conner Mantz claimed the eighth place, and Clayton Young followed him at the ninth rank. Ultimately, he took more than 12 minutes extra compared to table topper, Tamirat Tola. He could not repeat the feat that once helped him stay alongside the legendary American marathoner, Galen Rupp. In the trial as well, he remained ahead of Rupp. But today, everything was disrupted quickly. 

Since the beginning of the marathon today at the Paris Olympics, Leonard Korir had been trailing behind. Both Nico and Clayton performed smoothly. But the weather or the geographical features in the venue took the harshest test on Korrir’s patience, as the result followed. But coming from an Army background, he knows how to change the climate. So Leonard Korir will come back soon, in a better way.