Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, 24, who held the men’s marathon world record, has passed away in a road accident in his native country. He and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana from Rwanda, were in a car that crashed on a road in western Kenya on Sunday.
The road accident occurred on Sunday around 23:00 local time (20:00 GMT).
According to the police, Kiptum was driving and had “lost control [of the vehicle] and veered off-road entering into a ditch on his left side”.“He drove in the ditch for about 60 metres before hitting a big tree,” the police statement said.
Kiptum and Hakizimana died at the scene of the crash. A third person – a young woman – was seriously injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
Kiptum emerged as a challenger to fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge – one of the best marathon runners ever. Kiptum beat Kipchoge’s record, running the 26.2 miles (42km) in two hours and 35 seconds in Chicago last October.
Both runners were part of Kenya’s tentative marathon squad for the Paris Olympics later this year. Kipchoge said on X that the man who surpassed his record was a rising star with “a whole life” ahead of him to achieve “incredible greatness”, and expressed his sympathy to his family.
Just last week, Kiptum’s team announced that he would try to run the marathon in under two hours in Rotterdam in April – a feat that has never been done in open competition. The father-of-two quickly rose to fame – he only ran his first full marathon in 2022.
He made an immediate impression as he ran the then-fourth fastest time on record (2:01:53) to win the Valencia Marathon before setting a course record of 2:01:25 at the London Marathon in April 2023. Six months later, in only his third marathon, Kiptum shaved 34 seconds off the world record time in Chicago in his last race.
He had already developed a unique tactical approach that saw him run with the pack for 30km before increasing the speed and going out on his own for the rest of the race.
Responding to the news of his death, Kenyan Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba wrote on X: “Devastatingly sickening!! Kenya has lost a special gem. Lost for words.”
Kenya’s President William Ruto also praised Kiptum as an extraordinary sportsman who had left a mark on the world.
Kenya’s opposition leader and former prime minister, Raila Odinga, said the country had lost “a true hero” and was grieving “a remarkable individual… and Kenyan athletics icon”.”
