Kenya’s 24-year-old Kelvin Kiptum, the current world record holder in the men’s marathon has passed away in a car accident .
On Sunday, he and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana of Rwanda, were killed in a car 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.
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.
Kenyan Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba paid homage to Kiptum by writing on X, saying, “Devastatingly disgusting!! Kenya has lost a unique jewel. Speechless.
Former prime minister and leader of the Kenyan 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, according to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, was “an incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy.”
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.
Police provided more information on the collision, stating 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 revealed last week that he would try to run the course in under two hours in the Rotterdam marathon, which is a record that has never been 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.
Already, he had developed a unique tactical strategy that saw him run with the pack for thirty kilometers before picking up the pace and finishing the race alone.
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 world record holder and the athlete first met when she was much younger, their partnership as coach and athlete started in 2018.
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.
“I am now appreciative of his accomplishment.”