Leonard Korir came all the way from Kenya to Iona, but he didn’t do it just for himself. He wanted to be part of something greater than just one person, something bigger than just himself.
Last year, Korir enlisted in the U.S. Army to represent his new country as a soldier. Last month, he earned the right to represent the United States as an Olympian, an honor he will get at 8:27 p.m. Saturday when he runs the 10,000-meters in Rio de Janeiro.
“In the Army, we don’t just fight wars, we have harder stuff we can do, so doing this to represent the Army, especially in the Olympics, it means a lot to us,” Korir, 29, told Massachusetts TV station WWLP. The Army Specialist and part of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program since this past January.
It’s fitting that Korir is a motor transportation operator. Those who know him well say he has a motor that never stops running.
“It’s a great feeling to have someone you’ve coached and were a part of helping achieve his goals finally see him reach that goal. I was really happy for him, really excited,” Ricardo Santos, Korir’s coach at Iona, told The Post. “I know he’ll go out there and do the best he can. He’ll give 100 percent. Whatever he has that day, he’ll put it all out there.
“In the sport of running, that’s the only way you’re going to survive at the pro level, making sure you leave no stone unturned. It’s not just how hard you train or run, but little things outside of running. He watches what he eats, eats healthy, makes sure he goes to bed early, makes sure his body will recover. … He was always on top of that. It’s helped him achieve that Olympic dream of his.”
Korir made it real when he gained eligibility to run for his adoptive nation in May, and — in his debut at the national level — took third in the 10,000-meters at last month’s U.S. Olympic Trials with a 28:16.97.
The former Iona Gael with the sarcastic sense of humor and dry wit — “Leonard likes to joke around with teammates, take the edge off,’’ Santos said — now gets to keep the Team USA mood light in Rio.
His journey to Brazil has been longer than most.
Korir is from Iten in the Rift Valley of Kenya, the world’s greatest distance-running hotbed. World champions Mary Keitany, Edna Kiplagat, Florence Kiplagat, Lornah Kiplagat and Linet Masai all made their homes in Iten. Olympic gold medalists Matthew Birir, Peter Rono and David Rudisha all went to high school there, as did world champion Wilson Boit Kipketer and New York marathon champ Ibrahim Hussein.
After getting an associate’s degree at a local teacher’s college, Korir became an eight-time All-American at Iona and won the school’s first NCAA track titles: the indoor 5,000 and outdoor 10,000 as a junior in 2011. After turning pro and training in Arizona with five-time Olympian Bernard Lagat, Korir won the 2015 New York City Half Marathon in 1:01:06.
But he had this urge to be part of something bigger.
Kenyan-born Shadrack Kipchirchir and fellow Iten native Paul Chelimo both enlisted in the Army in 2014. Korir followed suit last September, and now all three are representing the U.S. in Rio.
“I was inspired to challenge myself more by joining the military. I wanted to represent the Army in world-class events like the Olympics and world championships,’’ said Korir, who was naturalized through his military service.
“A couple of his Kenyan friends went into the Army program. They convinced him to do it and I’m sure he’s glad he did it now,’’ Santos told The Post.
“He’s always been a driven guy. Here at Iona, he was someone that always put the team needs ahead of his personal needs, so it didn’t surprise me he ended up doing that, being part of a team like that. … He’s always been a team-guy, one of those guys who helped out, has been there for his teammates and lends himself pretty well to this.”