A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Danny came to Canada as a teenager in 2001 for the Francophone Games. Danny soon found his way to Toronto where he felt the training would be most condusive to chase his Oylmpic dream. Once settled there he began training with the University of Toronto Track Club.

In the fall of 2002 Danny won the Canadian 10k Road Race Championships; his first step to being a professional runner. After several road race victories in 2003 Danny won the first Marathon he ever ran, the 2004 Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon, in 2 hours and 14 minutes. Three weeks later he ran a 2:17 placing second at the Toronto Marathon. Those 150 mile training weeks (while working full time) were paying off! Without official status however Danny could not leave Canada and could not get international racing exposure and experience.

Dedication. Hard Work. Passion.

More convincing victories came in 2005, 2006 and 2007 at Casino Niagara, Canada Running Series and a slew of others. Finally, in 2008, his coveted Canadian citizenship arrived and Danny travelled overseas where he placed 15th at the London Marathon in 2008; two places behind Olympic Champion Stephano Baldini. Then in Berlin in September 2008 Danny planned another attempt at the Olympic qualifier for Beijing. Early in the race Danny was on 2:12 pace but then disaster struck. Danny suddenly collapsed near the 5km mark. A good Samaritan nearby began administering CPR almost immediately, and a paramedic on a motorcycle got to him within a minute. Danny received between 15-19 shocks from a defibrillator, and the paramedics worked on him for 45 minutes before his condition stabilized. He was placed in a medically-induced coma for several days, and remained in a Berlin hospital for over two weeks before he was able to return home to Toronto. Doctors determined that Danny suffered a “ventricular fibrillation” (an uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle) brought on by myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart), which in turn was caused by a cold virus.

Danny took eight months off to recover. After some light running he won the 5km race at the Toronto Distillery District race! Danny was on his way back! With a 1 hour and 09 minutes for the half marathon in September 2009, one year to the day since he almost died, Danny is well on his way to regaining world class fitness!

The stats:

Sex: Male
Birthplace: Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Immigrated to Canada: 2001
Hometown: Toronto, On Canada
Residence: Toronto
Languages spoken: English & French
Height: 175 cm/5.10"
Weight: 60kg/ 132LBS
Occupation:Full time athlete
Official sponsor: Nike since 2005
Favourite training shoes: Air Max Motor, Lunarglide, Air Spain
Favourite racing shoes: Katana Cage, Vapor