Toms Komass breaks 30-year-old Latvian 100km running record
Latvian ultra-distance runner Toms Komass has broken a Latvian national record in the 100-kilometre run that had stood for more than 30 years, clocking six hours, 43 minutes and 21 seconds at a championship in Germany.
Latvian athlete Toms Komass has surpassed one of the longest-standing national records in Latvian athletics — the 100-kilometre run. The previous record belonged to Aleksandrs Prokopčuks, who set it back in 1994 with a time of six hours, 50 minutes and 36 seconds.
Komass set the new record at a championship event in Germany, completing the distance in six hours, 43 minutes and 21 seconds — more than seven minutes faster than the previous mark.
The path to the record
Speaking to LSM.lv, Komass said the idea of beating Prokopčuks' achievement first came to him back in 2021, but real belief that the goal was attainable only developed from 2023 onward. That year he set a new record on the Riga–Valmiera (RV107) route, covering 100 kilometres in a time very close to seven hours.
Because the Riga–Valmiera route does not meet the official requirements for record certification, Komass had to find another suitable competition course to have a new record officially registered. He found that opportunity at the championship in Germany.
A busy month
September has been an especially active month for Komass — just a week before setting the new record, he won silver at the Latvian championship in the half-marathon distance.
