Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum died in a traffic accident in his native Kenya.
The local police confirmed this to the French news agency AFP. The long-distance runner was only 24 years old. His coach Gervais Hakizimana was also killed in the accident.
Lost control of the vehicle
“The accident occurred at around 11 p.m. There were three passengers in the car, two died on the spot. The two are Kiptum and his trainer,” said Peter Mulinge, police commander of Elgeyo Marakwet in western Kenya. The third occupant, a woman, was taken to the hospital.
An official police report said that Kiptum “lost control of his vehicle” in the accident: “He left the road and drove into a ditch on the left side. He drove about 60 meters into the ditch before crashing into it hit a large tree.”
“Shocked and deeply saddened”
Kiptum shattered the world record last October and literally turned the marathon world upside down. The then 23-year-old ran the 42.195 kilometers in Chicago in 2:00:35 hours, 34 seconds faster than the then record holder Eliud Kipchoge a year earlier in Berlin. Back in April, Kiptum had already moved up to second place on the all-time best list in London in 2:01:25 hours.
Kenyan President William Ruto described Kiptum at “He was arguably one of the best athletes in the world, breaking boundaries and setting a marathon record,” wrote Ruto: “Kiptum was our future.”
“We were shocked and deeply saddened when we learned of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana,” wrote Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, on X: “We speak to the families, friends, Our deepest condolences to our teammates and the Kenyan nation.” Kiptum was an “incredible athlete” who “left an incredible legacy, we will miss him very much.”
Candidate for the two-hour mark
At the Summer Olympics in Paris this year, Kiptum, who did not compete for Kenya at any major international championships, was supposed to meet against his compatriot Kipchoge. Kiptum was considered a promising candidate to become the first person to break the magical two-hour mark under regular conditions.