Kenyan marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum perishes in a car crash
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Kenya’s 24-year-old Kelvin Kiptum, the current world record holder in the men’s marathon, passed away in a car accident there.
On Sunday, he and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana of Rwanda, were killed in an automobile accident on a route in western Kenya.
As a competitor against fellow countryman and world record runner Eliud Kipchoge in 2023, Kiptum achieved notable success.
And Kiptum surpassed Kipchoge’s record in October of last year in Chicago, finishing the 26.2 miles (42 km) in two hours and 35 seconds.
Kenya’s tentative marathon squad for the Olympics in Paris later this year included the two athletes.
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Kenyan Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba paid homage to Kiptum by writing on X: “Absurdly disgusting! Kenya has lost a unique jewel. Speechless.”
Kenya’sFormer prime minister and leader of the opposition, Raila Odinga, said that the nation was mourning “a remarkable individual… and Kenyan athletics icon” and that it had lost “a true hero”.
Kiptum was described as “an incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy” by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
According to authorities, the car collision occurred on Sunday at roughly 23:00 local time (20:00 GMT), as reported by the AFP news agency.
In releasing additional information on the collision, the police stated that Kiptum was the driver and that the car “lost control and rolled, killing the two on the spot”.
The third passenger, a woman, was hurt, and a spokesperson who was cited by AFP said that she had been “rushed to hospital.”
His team just declared last week that he would try to run the distance.at the Rotterdam marathon in less than two hours—a record never before attained in a public competition.
The father of two rose to stardom quite quickly—he didn’t even complete a full marathon until 2022.
He immediately made an impression during the course of the race, winning the Valencia Marathon in 2:01:53, the fourth-fastest time ever recorded, and then setting a course record of 2:01:25 at the London Marathon in April 2023.
In just his third marathon, six months later, Kiptum cut 34 seconds off the world record in Chicago during his last race.
He had already developed a unique tactical strategy that allowed him to run 30 kilometers with the group before picking up the pace and venturing out on his own.for the duration of the competition.
Because he couldn’t afford his own shoes, Kiptum ran in borrowed shoes during his first significant competition in 2018.
He belonged to a new generation of Kenyan athletes who started competing on the road instead of following the long-standing custom of starting on the track and moving on to greater distances.
Last year, Kiptum told the BBC that his unconventional decision was merely the result of a lack of funding.
He clarified, “I had no money to travel to track sessions.”
Hakizimana, a 36-year-old former Rwandan runner, served as his coach. He worked with Kiptum for months to help him aim for the world record last year.
Although the two first met, their partnership as coach and athlete started in 2018.during the much younger age of the world record holder.
Hakizimana reminisced last year, “I knew him when he was a little boy, herding livestock barefoot.” “I was practicing close to his father’s property in 2009 when he would come kicking at my heels, and I would chase him away.
“Now, I am grateful to him for his achievement.”
